3 · Sentence patterns
Even: lián … dōu and lián … yě
the emphatic construction for “even”
Lián picks out the most extreme case, and dōu or yě after it says that the statement holds even there.
English says “even” with one word. Chinese needs two, and they frame the extreme case: 连 before it, 都 or 也 after it, and then the verb: 他连饭都没吃, “he did not even eat”. The second half is not optional — 连 without 都 or 也 leaves the sentence hanging.
Because 都 and 也 are adverbs and must stand before the verb, the extreme case has to come before the verb as well. An object therefore moves out of its usual place: “I don't know even one character” becomes 我连一个字都不认识. The extreme case can also be the subject — 连孩子都知道, “even a child knows” — or a time, or a verb.
The pattern sets up a scale: if even the least likely case is true, everything else on the scale is true as well. That is why it is so often negative — 连…都不, 连…也没 — to stress how little was done. In positive sentences it stresses how far something reaches: 连我奶奶都用手机了, “even my grandmother uses a mobile phone now”.
都 and 也 are close to interchangeable here; 都 is a little more common overall, 也 very common with a negative. With 一, a measure word and a negative, 连 is often dropped altogether: 我一口也没吃, “I did not eat a single bite”.
The form
| object, negative | 他连饭都没吃。 |
| subject | 连孩子都知道。 |
| with yě | 我连他的名字也忘了。 |
| not a single one | 我一个人也不认识。 |
| a verb | 他连看都没看。 |
The rules one by one
The form this topic is about
连 stands before the extreme case, and 都 or 也 must follow it.
连我妈妈都喜欢这首歌。Even my mum likes this song.
An object moves from after the verb to before it.
他连一杯水都没喝。He did not even drink a glass of water.
Without 连, 一 plus a measure word plus 都 or 也 before a negative means “not a single”.
我今天一分钱也没花。I haven't spent a penny today.
A verb can be the extreme case: 连 plus the verb, 都 or 也, then the verb again, negated.
她连想都没想就答应了。She agreed without even thinking about it.
A closer look
Why the object has to move
都 and 也 look backwards: they refer to what stands before them. In 我们都去 the word 都 sums up 我们, which came first. The 连 pattern uses the same mechanism, so the case it refers to has to be in front — and if that case is an object, it leaves its place after the verb.
The pattern also carries surprise. 连老师都不认识 implies that a teacher is the last person you would expect not to know, and so it tells you how hard the character must be. Choosing the extreme case is half the meaning; the grammar only frames it.
How to spot it
- 连…都
- 连…也
- 一个…都没
Example sentences
这个字太难了，连老师都不认识。This character is so hard that even the teacher doesn't know it.
我太忙了，连午饭都没吃。I was so busy I didn't even have lunch.
他连一句中文也不会说。He can't say a single sentence in Chinese.
连三岁的孩子都懂这个道理。Even a three-year-old understands that.
她走的时候连再见都没说。When she left she didn't even say goodbye.
房间里一个人也没有。There is not a single person in the room.
7 more example sentences
我连他姓什么都不知道。I don't even know what his surname is.
这道题太简单了，连我弟弟都能做对。This question is so easy that even my little brother can get it right.
他累得连话都不想说了。He is so tired he doesn't even feel like talking.
我一口都没吃。I didn't eat a single bite.
连周末他也要上班。He has to work even at weekends.
我忙得连给妈妈打电话的时间都没有。I am so busy I don't even have time to phone my mum.
冰箱里连一个鸡蛋都没有了。There isn't even one egg left in the fridge.
Worth knowing (1)
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Not a single one, without lián
With 一, a measure word and a negative, speakers usually leave 连 out and keep only 也 or 都. The 一 already names the smallest possible amount, so it is the extreme case by itself.
那个地方我一次也没去过。I have not been to that place even once.
The trap English speakers fall into
Watch out
English “even” is a single word, so learners give Chinese a single word too and stop at 连. The pattern has two halves, and the second — 都 or 也 before the verb — is the half no Chinese speaker would leave out.
Lián marks the extreme case, dōu or yě completes it, and both stand before the verb.
Your turn
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