HSK 5
连动句3：前后两个动词性词语具有因果、转折、条件关系
lián dòng jù 3 ： qián hòu liǎng gè dòng cí xìng cí yǔ jù yǒu yīn guǒ 、 zhuǎn zhé 、 tiáo jiàn guān xì
Serial Verb Construction 3: Two verb phrases with causal, adversative, or conditional relations
Explanation
This is a serial-verb sentence of type 3 (连动句 liándòngjù — a sentence with two verb phrases performed by the same subject, following one after another). In this type, the front and back verb phrases have a cause-and-effect, contrastive (转折 zhuǎnzhé — an opposite/concessive meaning), or conditional relationship with each other, even without a connective word.
subject (the person/thing performing, at the head of the sentence) + verb phrase 1 + verb phrase 2; the relationship between the two phrases is understood through order and logic.
生病住院 (fell ill → hospitalized) is a cause-and-effect relationship; 借了没看 (borrowed but didn't read) is a contrastive relationship; 有办法解决 (has a way to solve) is a purpose/conditional relationship. Use it when you want to express two related actions concisely without needing a conjunction (a word connecting clauses).
Vietnamese learners are used to inserting conjunctions such as 因为 (yīnwèi, because), 但是 (dànshì, but) in between; in a serial-verb sentence you usually do NOT use a conjunction, as the relationship emerges from the order itself. You also need to keep the correct before–after order per the logic (cause first, result after).
Examples
Teacher Li fell ill and had to be hospitalized.
This book, she borrowed but did not read.
She has a way to solve the problem.
Practice
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The grammar point “连动句3：前后两个动词性词语具有因果、转折、条件关系” (Serial Verb Construction 3: Two verb phrases with causal, adversative, or conditional relations) is one of the key structures at HSK 5. To use it fluently, you need to understand the contexts where it's used and practice regularly.
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