Chinese-ctcfl.ox.ac.uk/MD/Grammar/docs/g16.md

The lian ye construction

This is one of the constructions used to emphasize a noun, a noun clause or a v-o pattern. The emphasized element can be the subject or the object of a sentence and is placed after 连 lián even.

The adverb 都 dōu or 也 yě is placed before the main verb of the sentence. The difference between 都 dōu and 也 yě is that 都 dōu can be used in both the affirmative and negative, while 也 yě is normally used before negatives or before verbs which have a negative sense.

The 连 lián clause refers to the object of the sentence in the following examples.

S.	连 O.	都/ 也 V.
他	连 觉	也 忘 了 睡
tā	lián jiào	yě wàng le shuì

He has even forgotten to go to sleep. Or

S.	连 V-O.	都/ 也 V.
他	连 睡 觉	也 忘 了
tā	lián shuìjiào	yě wàng le

S.	连 O.	都/ 也 V.
我	连 他的 名 字	也 忘 了
wǒ	lián tā de míngzi	yě wàng le

I’ve even forgotten his name.

The 连 lián clause refers to the subject of the sentence in the following example.

连 S.	都/也 V. O.
连 好学生	也 不去 上 课.
lián hăo xuéshēng	yě búqù shàngkè

Even the good students don't go to class.

Although the sentences above are in the affirmative form, the adverb 也 yě is used to imply that forgetting to sleep, forgetting someone’s name, and not going to class, are all undesirable actions. Of course, the adverb 都 dōu can also be used in the above sentences.

When placed after the particle 得 de, the 连 lián construction can be used to describe the outcome of an action, in a complement of degree construction, as follows.

S	SV 得	Outcome of the SV (连… 也…)
我 们	忙 得	连 饭 也 忘 了 吃
wǒmen	máng de	lián fàn yě wangle chī

We are so busy that we’ve even forgotten to eat.

The phrase 连饭也忘了吃 lián fàn yě wangle chī even forget to eat, here placed after the particle 得 de, describes the results of the state described before 得 de.

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