Ch 25 · Lesson 10Mandarin · Chapter 25 · Lesson 10 · Grammar primer
尽管 and 由于: although and owing to
is a weightier and usually takes after it; before a bare verb it means feel free to. is the written , and opens its clause.
The short version
，。Jǐnguǎn tiānqì hěn lěng, tā háishi qù pǎobù le.
Why?Hide
(jǐnguǎn), although, is weightier than (suīrán) and usually takes a partner such as (háishi). (yóuyú), owing to, opens its clause; unlike (yīnwèi), it cannot follow the main clause unless (shì) comes first. Straight before a verb, (jǐnguǎn) means 'feel free to'.
尽管 (jǐnguǎn): a weightier 虽然 (suīrán)
(jǐnguǎn) concedes something that should have stopped what follows, like "despite the fact that". Like (suīrán), it usually takes a partner in the second clause: (háishi), (dànshì), (yě) or the written (réngrán), still.
| Hanzi | Pinyin | English |
|---|---|---|
，。 | Suīrán tiānqì hěn lěng, tā háishi qù pǎobù le. | Although it was cold, he went running |
，。 | Jǐnguǎn tiānqì hěn lěng, tā háishi qù pǎobù le. | Despite the cold, he still went running |
，。 | Jǐnguǎn wǒmen yǐjīng jiěshì guo, wèntí réngrán méiyǒu jiějué. | Although we explained, it is still unsolved |
Writing can also put the (jǐnguǎn) clause second, as an afterthought: ，。 (Tā háishi qù le, jǐnguǎn tiānqì hěn lěng.), he went anyway, cold as it was.
Straight before a verb, (jǐnguǎn) is a different word: "feel free to". 。 (Yǒu wèntí jǐnguǎn wèn wǒ.) - If you have questions, feel free to ask me. No contrast, no second clause.
由于 (yóuyú): the written "because"
(yóuyú) is the written (yīnwèi): "owing to", "as". It opens the first clause, before a noun phrase or a whole clause, and (yīncǐ) or (suǒyǐ) can answer it:
| Hanzi | Pinyin | English |
|---|---|---|
，。 | Yóuyú tiānqì yuányīn, fēijī wǎn le liǎng ge xiǎoshí. | Owing to the weather, the plane was two hours late |
，。 | Yóuyú shíjiān bú gòu, yīncǐ wǒmen zhǐ jiǎng le yí bàn. | As time was short, we covered only half |
，。 | Tā méi lái, shì yóuyú shēntǐ bù hǎo. | He didn't come; it was because he was unwell |
(yīnwèi) can follow the main clause, as English "because" does; (yóuyú) cannot, unless (shì) comes before it, as in the last row. More of the (yú) family is on the 于 prepositions.
Mistakes English speakers make
| Wrong | Right | Why |
|---|---|---|
，。 | ，。 | a state is a conclusion: (yīncǐ) |
，。 | ，。 | (yóuyú) opens its clause |
，。 | ，。 | (jǐnguǎn) concedes; a cause is (yóuyú) |
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