EXPRESSING CAUSE AND EFFECT OR REASON AND RESULT

40

Expressing cause and effect or reason and result

40.1Expressing cause and effect or reason and result in a single sentence

Mandarin uses the paired connecting words / yrnwei ‘because/since’ . . .

suóym ‘therefore’ . . . to express cause and effect or reason and result. / yrnwei and suóym occur at the beginning of their clauses or right before the predicate. They can occur in the same sentence.

!"#$%&'( )*+,-./!"#$%&'( )*+,-./

Yrnwéi tp méi ynu hln dus qián, suóym tp bù suíbiàn mki dsngxi.

Because he doesn’t have a lot of money, therefore he doesn’t casually buy things.

40.1.1Omission of subjects in / yRnwei . . . suóyM . . . sentences

When the subjects of the / yrnwei clause and the suóym clause are identical, the subject is often omitted in the second ( suóym) clause. In that case,/ yrnwei is usually placed after the subject of the first clause.

!"#$%&'()*+,-!"#$%&'()*+,-

Wn zuìjìn yrnwei máng, suóym méi gli nm dk diànhuà.

Because I have been busy recently, I haven’t called you.

When the subjects of the two clauses are identical, the subject may also be omitted from the first clause. This sentence is acceptable with or without suóym.

!"( ) !"#$!"( ) !"#$

Yrnwei ynu shì, (suóym) Wáng xipnsheng qmng jià le.

Because he had business to attend to, Mr. Wang asked for time off.

40.1.2Relative order of the / yRnwei and suóyM clauses

The position of the suóym clause is fixed. It must come second in the sentence, after a clause that introduces the cause.

272

Introducing the cause or reason		40.2
Say this	Not this

!"#$%&' ()"#*+ G !"#$%&'( )#$*!"#$%&' ()"#*+ !"#$%&'( )#$*

YRnwéi tp shì Zhsngguó rén, suóyM	SuóyM tp huì shus Zhsngguó huà,
tp huì shus Zhsngguó huà.	yRnwéi tp shì Zhsngguó rén.
Because he is Chinese, (therefore) he
can speak Chinese.

However, the / yrnwei clause may occur either first or second in the sentence. As the sentences above illustrate, when / yrnwei occurs in the second clause, suóym cannot be included in the first clause.

!"#$%& '!"()!"#$%& '!"()

Tp huì shus Zhsngguó huà, yrnwéi tp shì Zhsngguó rén.

He can speak Chinese because he is Chinese.

!"#$%&'()*!"#$%&'()*

Wáng xipnsheng qmng jià le, yRnwéi tp ynu shì.

Mr. Wang asked for time off, because he had a matter (to attend to).

40.1.3Omission of the connecting words

Although you can include / yrnwei and suóym in the same sentence, it is often possible to have only / yrnwei or only suóym in a cause and effect sentence.

suóym and not / yrnwei:

!"#$%&'()*+!"#$%&'()*+

Wn zuì jìn máng, suóym méi gli nm dk diànhuà.

I have been busy recently, so I haven’t called you.

/ yrnwei and not suóym:

!"#$%&'(!"#$%&'(

Tp yrnwéi bìng le, méi lái shàng kè.

Because he was sick, he didn’t come to class.

40.2Introducing the cause or reason

The following expressions introduce a cause or reason for some situation.

(noun phrase) , . . .

(noun phrase) , . . .

yrnwei (noun phrase) de gupnxi, . . .

because of/due to (noun phrase), . . .

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EXPRESSING CAUSE AND EFFECT OR REASON AND RESULT

40.2

!"#$%&'(#)*+,-.!"#$%&'(#)*+,-.

YRnwéi tp péngyou de guPnxi, qìchq de jiàgé jiknshko le.

Because of his friend, the price of the car was reduced.

(noun phrase) ( ) situation1,	situation2
(noun phrase) ( ) situation1,	situation2

(noun phrase) (zhr) suóym situation1, shì yrnwei situation2 (nouns phrase’s) reason for situation1 is situation2

!"#$%&'()*+,-./0123!"#$%&'()*+,-./0123

Ynu xiq rén zhR suóyM duì gsngzuò bù rènzhqn, shì yRnwei quqfá zérèngkn.

The reason why some people don’t work conscientiously is because they lack a sense of responsibility.

!"#$%&'()*+",-!"#$%&'()*+",-

Wn zhR suóyM bù qù Mliguó, shì yRnwéi shqntm bù hko.

The reason why I am not going to America is that my health isn’t good.

/ (situation) yóu yú (situation)

owing to, due to, because of, as a result of (situation)/ yóu yú may be placed before or after the subject.

!"#$%&'()*!+,-./!"#$%&'()*!+,-./

Yóuyú wn de ctxrn dàyì, zhè cì kkoshì de chéngjr bù hko.

Because of my carelessness, my grade on this exam was not good.

!"#$%&'()*+,-./!"#$%&'()*+,-./

Tp yóuyú bù liáojil qíngkuàng, zàochéng le yr gè dà cuòwù.

Because he did not understand the situation, he made a big mistake.

/ (situation1), (situation2) yóu yú (situation1), suóym (situation2)

or

/ (situation1), (situation2) yóu yú (situation1), yrn’ér (situation2)

due to/because of (situation1), therefore (situation2)

The inclusion of suóym ‘therefore’, or yrn’ér ‘therefore’, etc., makes the relationship between cause and effect or reason and result clearer.

!"#$%&'()!*+,-!"#$%&'()!*+,-

Yóuyú mkibudào piào, suóyM wnmen shàngbuliko hunchq.

Because we could not get tickets, we couldn’t get on the train.

274

Inquiring about cause or reason

40.4

!"#!$%&'()*+,-./01!"#!$%&'()*+,-./01

Yóuyú gèzì jipnchí zìjm de yìjiàn, yRn’ér wú fk dáchéng xiéyì.

Owing to the fact that everyone held onto his own opinion, there was no way to reach an agreement.

The result may be stated first in the sentence. The reason is then introduced with/ yóu yú. / yóu yú must be preceded by shì:

(situation2) / (situation1) (situation2) shì yóu yú (situation1) situation2 is because of situation1

!"#$%&'()*+,-./0123!"#$%&'()*+,-./0123

Pèngdào yrdikr kùnnan jiù tuìsus, zhè dsu shì yóuyú nm quqfá xìnxrn.

(If ) you retreat when you meet a little difficulty, this is because of your lack of confidence.

/ (noun phrase) wéi le (noun phrase)

because of/for the sake of (noun phrase)

/ wéi le can be used to identify some noun phrase as the reason for performing some action.

!"#$%&'()!"#$%&'()

Wn zhèyàng zuò, wánquán shì wéi le nm.

My doing this is completely for you. (I’m doing this all for you.)

40.3Introducing the effect or result

In this pattern, / wéi le introduces a desired effect or result.

situation ,

situation ,

wéi le situation qmjiàn, . . .

in order to, for the purpose of (obtaining the situation)

!"#$%&'()*+,-./!"#$%&'()*+,-./

Wéi le pnquán qMjiàn, juéduì jìnzhm srjr jio hòu kpi chq.

For the sake of safety, drivers are absolutely forbidden to drink and drive.

40.4Inquiring about cause or reason

To inquire about the cause or reason for something, use the following expressions:

/ wèi shénme? ‘why?’

/ wèi shénme is the most common and neutral expression used to inquire about the cause or reason for something.

275

EXPRESSING CAUSE AND EFFECT OR REASON AND RESULT

40.4

!"#$%&'(!"#$%&'(

Nm zuótipn wèi shénme méi lái shàng kè?

Why didn’t you come to class yesterday?

!"#$%&!"#$%&

Nm wèi shénme hái zài zhèr?

Why are you still here?

/ zLnme? ‘Why? How come?’

/ zlnme is used to inquire about the reason for something, at the same time conveying surprise or disapproval. It may not require an answer.

!"#$%&"'!"#$%&"'

Tp shus jrntipn lái, zLnme méi lái?

He said he was coming today. Why hasn’t he come?

!"#$%&'!"#$%&'

Nm bù shus, wn zLnme zhrdao?

If you don’t say (if you don’t tell me), how can I know?

! / !"shénme lMyóu? ‘What is the reason?’

!/ ! shénme lmyóu is used to inquire about the reason for something. When the speaker uses this expression, he or she expects an answer.

!"#$%&'()!"#$%&'()

Nm ynu shénme lMyóu yào gqn wn lí htn?

What is the reason why you want to divorce me?

!"#$%&'()!"#$%&'()

Shénme lMyóu nm bù gli wnmen gsngqian?

What is the reason why you haven’t given us our wages?

/ !píng shénme? ‘On what basis?’ ‘By what right?’

/ píng shénme is a colloquial expression, most often used in speaking.

!"#$!"#$

Nm píng shénme dk ren?

What right do you have to hit me?

!"#$%!"#$%

Nm píng shénme dàibo wn?

On what grounds are you arresting me?

hégù? and / =wéi hé ‘For what reason?’ ‘Why?’

hégù and / wéi hé are used only in formal (usually written) language.

276

Inquiring about cause or reason

40.4

!"#!"#

Tp hégù shp rén?

Why did he kill someone?

!"!"

Wéi hé jrnghupng?

Why are (you) so frightened?

Í24.6

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