Open any Chinese news report, contract, or academic paper and you meet a set of single-character connectives that never surface in casual speech: 而, 则, 于, 以, 及, 并, 故. They are the mortar of formal Chinese — survivors of Classical Chinese (文言文) that compress into one syllable what spoken Chinese spells out with 但是, 然后, 在, 用, 和, 而且, 所以. Master them and terse formal prose stops looking like code. This page covers the four workhorses 而/则/于/以 first, then the joining-and-consecutive set. It sits beside the broader classical residue overview; the everyday twins live on function-word pairs. Register throughout: written only.
而 (ér) — "and yet / and so"
而 links two predicates (not two nouns). It covers contrast ("and yet") and smooth sequence/manner ("and thereby"), where speech would use 但是/却 or 然后/地.
产品价格低廉而质量可靠。
chǎnpǐn jiàgé dīlián ér zhìliàng kěkào
The product is low in price yet reliable in quality. (written/formal) — contrastive 而; speech would say 又便宜又可靠.
他推门而入。
tā tuī mén ér rù
He pushed the door open and entered. (written/literary) — sequential 而; speech: 他推开门走了进去.
则 (zé) — "then / whereas"
则 has two jobs. In conditionals it means "then" (the formal 就), typically resuming a 若/如 clause. In parallel structures it means "whereas," marking a contrast between two items — this is the sense that trips learners, because it needs a preceding item to contrast against.
前者便宜，后者则质量更好。
qiánzhě piányi, hòuzhě zé zhìliàng gèng hǎo
The former is cheap, whereas the latter is higher in quality. (written/formal) — contrastive 则.
若遇特殊情况，则另行通知。
ruò yù tèshū qíngkuàng, zé lìngxíng tōngzhī
Should special circumstances arise, [we] will notify separately. (written/formal) — conditional 若…则, the formal 要是…就.
于 (yú) — "at / in / than"
于 is the formal coverb for location, time, and comparison. It attaches after its verb or adjective — 位于 (located in), 成立于 (founded in), 优于 (superior to), 高于 (higher than) — where spoken 在 and 比 come before.
该公司成立于一九九八年。
gāi gōngsī chénglì yú yī jiǔ jiǔ bā nián
The company was founded in 1998. (written/formal) — 于 for time; speech: 这家公司是1998年成立的.
本产品性能优于同类。
běn chǎnpǐn xìngnéng yōuyú tónglèi
This product outperforms its peers. (written/formal) — 于 = 比 (than).
以 (yǐ) — "with / in order to"
以 marks means ("with / by") or purpose ("in order to"), and it anchors the frame 以…为… "take … as …" (以质量为本 "make quality the foundation"). Spoken Chinese uses 用 for means and 为了 for purpose.
请以书面形式提交申请。
qǐng yǐ shūmiàn xíngshì tíjiāo shēnqǐng
Please submit the application in written form. (written/formal) — 以 = 用 (by means of).
公司以顾客为中心。
gōngsī yǐ gùkè wéi zhōngxīn
The company puts the customer at the center. (written/formal) — the 以…为… frame.
The joining-and-consecutive set
Beyond the four particles, formal writing has its own coordinating and result connectives. Each has a plain spoken equivalent.
| Written | Sense | Spoken equivalent |
|---|---|---|
| 及 / 以及 (jí / yǐjí) | and (joining nouns) | 和 / 跟 |
| 并 / 并且 (bìng / bìngqiě) | and moreover (joining predicates) | 而且 |
| 且 (qiě) | and / moreover | 又…又 / 而且 |
| 从而 (cóng'ér) | thereby / thus | 这样就 |
| 因而 (yīn'ér) | as a result | 所以 |
| 故 (gù) | therefore (terse) | 所以 |
A key contrast for learners: 及 joins nouns, but 并 joins predicates/clauses. Mix them up and the sentence breaks. The noun-joiners get their own page under 及 / 以及.
委员会讨论并通过了该提案。
wěiyuánhuì tǎolùn bìng tōngguò le gāi tí'àn
The committee discussed and passed the proposal. (written/formal) — 并 joins the verbs 讨论 and 通过.
桌椅及其他家具均已到货。
zhuōyǐ jí qítā jiājù jūn yǐ dào huò
The desks, chairs, and other furniture have all arrived. (written/formal) — 及 joins nouns; 均 = 都.
成本大幅下降，从而提高了利润。
chéngběn dàfú xiàjiàng, cóng'ér tígāo le lìrùn
Costs fell sharply, thereby raising profits. (written/formal) — 从而 marks a logical result.
证据不足，故不予受理。
zhèngjù bùzú, gù bù yǔ shòulǐ
The evidence is insufficient; therefore the case is not accepted. (written/legal) — 故 = 所以, maximally terse.
Common Mistakes
1. Using these in conversation. They sound stilted and theatrical in speech. To a friend, "so I didn't go" is 所以我就没去, never *故我未往.
❌ 我很累，故我先走了。
Too literary for speech — say 我很累，所以先走了。 Keep 故 for reports and notices.
✅ 我很累，所以先走了。
wǒ hěn lèi, suǒyǐ xiān zǒu le
I'm tired, so I'll head off first. (spoken/informal)
2. Using 则 with nothing to contrast. 则 needs a preceding condition or a parallel item; a bare 则 dangles.
❌ 天气很好，则我们去公园。
No condition to resume — use 若…则 or drop 则: 天气好的话，我们就去公园。
✅ 天气若好，则前往公园。
tiānqì ruò hǎo, zé qiánwǎng gōngyuán
If the weather is good, [we] will go to the park. (written/formal) — 则 resumes the 若 clause.
3. Joining nouns with 并. 并 links predicates; nouns take 及/和.
❌ 我并他都参加了。
Wrong joiner — nouns take 及/和: 我与他均参加了。
✅ 报告分析并总结了数据。
bàogào fēnxī bìng zǒngjié le shùjù
The report analyzed and summarized the data. (written/formal) — 并 joins the two verbs correctly.
4. Fronting 于 like spoken 在. 于 follows the verb; it can't open a locative the way 在 does — see 于 as a formal coverb.
5. Letting 而 join two full clauses with different subjects loosely. 而 links predicates that share a topic; for a genuine two-subject contrast, formal writing prefers 然而 or 而 with a clear parallel — see 而 / 然而 / 不过.
Key Takeaways
- 而 joins predicates ("and yet / and so"); 则 means "then / whereas" and needs a preceding condition or contrast; 于 follows the verb for "at / in / than"; 以 marks means/purpose and anchors 以…为….
- The joining set: 及/以及 for nouns, 并/并且/且 for predicates, 从而/因而/故 for results — each with a plain spoken twin (和, 而且, 所以).
- Register: written only. In speech these read as theatrical.
- Learn the grammatical slot, not just the gloss — most errors are slot errors (bare 则, 并 joining nouns, fronted 于).
- 及 joins nouns, 并 joins predicates — the single most useful distinction in the set.
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- Classical Residue: 之/其/所 in Modern WritingHSK 6 — Modern formal Chinese still runs on fossilized Classical grammar: 之 (literary 的 / object pronoun), 其 (its/that), 所 (verb-nominalizer), plus 以/为 and the four-character frames 一…而…, 不…不…. You don't conjugate these — you recognize and reuse the frozen chunks.
- Spoken to Written: Function WordsHSK 5 — Grammatical connectors have written-register twins that lift a text: 但是→然而, 因为→由于, 所以→因此/故, 要是→若/倘若, 被→为…所, 在→于, 到→至, 从→自, 和→与/及. Same meaning, opposite register — swapping them turns chat into a report.