HSK 7–9 grammar · pattern
三重或三重以上的复句
三重复句 — three-layer complex sentences
Pattern
three or more levels of logic
( ) can be left out · other words may come before, between and after
How it works
A complex sentence of three or more layers nests one logical relation inside another: a cause containing a concession that itself contains a condition, for instance. Read it by finding the outermost break first, then working inwards — the connectives, not the commas, mark the layers.
Examples
因为时间太紧，所以虽然大家都想去，但如果准备不好，也只能放弃。
Yīnwèi shíjiān tài jǐn, suǒyǐ suīrán dàjiā dōu xiǎng qù, dàn rúguǒ zhǔnbèi bù hǎo, yě zhǐ néng fàngqì.
Because time is so short, then although everyone wants to go, if we aren't well prepared we'll simply have to give it up.
只要方法对，即使起步晚，进步也会很快，何况你还这么努力。
Zhǐyào fāngfǎ duì, jíshǐ qǐbù wǎn, jìnbù yě huì hěn kuài, hékuàng nǐ hái zhème nǔlì.
So long as the method is right, even a late start still brings fast progress — all the more so when you work this hard.
Related
See it in a story
In the app, 三重或三重以上的复句 is underlined wherever it appears in the stories you read, and practised with sentences from them. Free.