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Time Relationships Between Clauses: 的时候, 以前, 以后, 一...就, 当...时

Purpose: 为了, 以便, 免得

Choice and Contrast: 不是...而是, 与其...不如, 宁可...也

Hypotheticals and Concession: 即使...也, 哪怕

Conditions: 如果...就, 要是, 只要...就, 只有...才, 除非

Addition and Stepping Up: 不但...而且, 并且, 而, 甚至

Concession: 虽然...但是, 尽管, 不过

Cause and Result: 因为...所以, 由于, 因此

Linking Adverbs: 就, 才, 再, 又, 还, 也, and 都

Marking Focus and Emphasis: 是, 就是, and Fronting

The "Even" Pattern: 连...都/也

Existence at a Place: 有, 是, and 着 in Existential Sentences

The 是...的 Construction: Focusing on the When, Where, and How of a Past Action

Growing and Extreme Comparisons: 越来越, 越...越, 比...多了

Making Comparisons: 比, 没有, 跟...一样, 更, and 最

The 被 Passive, and Its Cousins 让, 叫, and 给

The 被 passive flips a Chinese sentence so the receiver comes first: 杯子被他打破了. How 被 works, its bad-news flavor, and its cousins 让, 叫, and 给.

The 把 Construction: Doing Something to an Object

The 把 construction moves the object in front of the verb to say what you did to it. When Chinese requires 把, when it's optional, and how to build it.

Serial Verb Constructions: Stacking Verbs in One Clause

Coverbs (Prepositional Verbs): 在, 给, 跟, 对, 用, 向, 往, 从, 离, 为

Saying How Often: Frequency with 次, 遍, and 下

Saying How Long: Duration of an Action

Complement of Degree and State: 得 Plus a Description (跑得很快)

Potential Complements: 得 and 不 Inside a Complement (看得懂, 拿不动)

Directional Complements: 来 and 去, and Compounds Like 起来, 下去, 出来