Complex Sentences: 不仅…还…, 只有…才…, 虽然…但是…
1. 不仅…还… (bù jǐn … hái …) — Not only … but also … Structure: Subject + 不仅 + Clause1 + 还 + Clause2 ✅ 他不仅会说英语，还会说法语。(He not only speaks English but also French.)
2. 只有…才… (zhǐ yǒu … cái …) — Only if … then …
Structure: 只有 + Condition + (Subject) + 才 + Result
✅ 只有努力学习，才能考好。(Only by studying hard can you do well on exams.)
3. 虽然…但是… (suī rán … dàn shì …) — Although … nevertheless …
Structure: 虽然 + Fact + 但是 + Contrast
✅ 虽然天气很冷，但是她还是去跑步了。(Although the weather was cold, she still went running.)
Key mistake: Don't use 虽然 and 但是 in the same clause about the same idea — they must contrast.
Worked examples
| Chinese | Pinyin | English | What it shows |
|---|---|---|---|
| 他不仅学习好，还非常有礼貌。 | Tā bù jǐn xué xí hǎo, hái fēi cháng yǒu lǐ mào. | He is not only a good student but also very polite. | 不仅…还… connecting two positive qualities of the same subject |
| 只有多练习，才能学好汉语。 | Zhǐ yǒu duō liàn xí, cái néng xué hǎo Hàn yǔ. | Only through lots of practice can one learn Chinese well. | 只有…才… expressing a necessary condition; subject omitted when general |
| 虽然这道题很难，但是我还是做出来了。 | Suī rán zhè dào tí hěn nán, dàn shì wǒ hái shì zuò chū lái le. | Although this problem was very difficult, I still managed to solve it. | 虽然…但是… with 还是 reinforcing the contrast; 做出来 = result complement |
What you need first
Every topic in GraphChinese names its own prerequisites, and these are the grammar points this one is built on. If a sentence here will not parse, one of them is why.
What this opens up
These patterns list Complex Sentences among their own prerequisites, so they become readable once this one holds.
The same pattern at other levels
- Complex Sentences — HSK 5
Complex Sentences is one topic of 829. GraphChinese teaches them in prerequisite order, so this pattern reaches you on the day everything it rests on is proven. The whole course, HSK 0 through HSK 6, is $49 once for lifetime access.
Start at your true level