连…都/也…: even X does Y
连…都/也 intensifies by highlighting an extreme case: if even this item satisfies the condition, the point is strongly made.
Structure: 连 + [extreme item] + 都/也 + Verb phrase
> 连小孩子都知道这件事。(Even children know this.)
都 vs 也: interchangeable in most cases; 也 is slightly softer.
Negation: 连 + [item] + 都/也 + 不/没 + V
> 连饭都没吃就走了。(Left without even eating.)
Note: 连 must precede the highlighted noun; 都/也 precede the verb. Nothing else can go between 连-item and 都/也.
Worked examples
| Chinese | Pinyin | English | What it shows |
|---|---|---|---|
| 他忙得连饭都没时间吃。 | Tā máng de lián fàn dōu méi shíjiān chī. | He was so busy he didn't even have time to eat. | 连 highlights 饭 (a basic need); 都没 = even … not |
| 这件事连老师也不知道答案。 | Zhè jiàn shì lián lǎoshī yě bù zhīdào dá'àn. | Even the teacher doesn't know the answer to this. | 连…也 variant; 老师 is the extreme case |
| 她学语言学得很快，连发音都几乎没有外国口音。 | Tā xué yǔyán xué de hěn kuài, lián fāyīn dōu jīhū méiyǒu wàiguó kǒuyīn. | She picks up languages quickly — even her pronunciation has almost no foreign accent. | 连 fronts the hardest-to-achieve item (pronunciation) to intensify the praise |
What this opens up
These patterns list 连…都/也… among their own prerequisites, so they become readable once this one holds.
连…都/也… 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.
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