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虽然......但是........structure

I Have a Question
#1

Hi @YuQinCai, @Constance_Fang @Fiona and the ChinesePod team, my question is this:

Can you please let me know if I can say “虽然他在考试前花了很长时间复习，期末考试没有考好”？
The reason I ask this is because in English we can have “although” only in the sentence without having “but”, right? But it looks like in Chinese we have to use both “虽然” and “但是” or just “但是”? Is it correct? Really appreciate for your help!

#2

Hi Jeremy,

That’s right. So take the sentence you mentioned above for example.
（X）虽然 他在考试前花了很长时间复习，期末考试没有考好
（O）虽然 他在考试前花了很长时间复习，但是 期末考试没有考好
（O）他在考试前花了很长时间复习，但是 期末考试没有考好

Betty

#3

Thanks Betty! :grinning: :grinning:

1 Like
#4

Hi All,
The sentence 虽然他在考试前花了很长时间复习， 但是期末考试没有考好, and 虽然他在考试前花了很长时间复习， 但是期末考试还是没有考好， what is the difference between them? many thanks.

#5

Hi Grace,

There’s no difference between them. But, to me, the second sentence with 还是(still) in it sounds more correct and natural.

Betty

#6

Hi Betty,

Just wondering if we could say " 他期末考试没有考好， 虽然他在考试前花了很长时间复习。 "
As far as I know, Chinese people don’t normally say like this. Please correct me if I am wrong.

Thanks!

#7

Hi Jeremy,
I think we can say like that in spoken language,still need to use formal sentence structure in writing, just like English.

#8

Okey, I see. Thanks Grace!

#9

I would not say it’s grammatically wrong. Just few people say so. But, like what happens in other languages, when people talk and think at the same time, you might hear all kinds of sentences. So, yes, it’s still possible to hear sentences like this.

Betty