联合关系句群: coordinate sentence groups (并列, 承接, 递进…)
【高147】句群 / sentence groups (联合关系)
Tone colorsā tone 1á tone 2ǎ tone 3à tone 4a neutral
In a 联合关系句群 (coordinate group) the sentences carry equal weight: none governs the others, and the type of relation comes from how they follow one another. There are six: 并列 (parallel: facts or images side by side), 承接 (sequential: events that follow each other in time), 递进 (progressive: each sentence goes one step further), 选择 (alternative: one or the other), 解说 (explanatory: the next sentence specifies or restates) and 总括 (summarising: the last sentence gathers the previous ones).
Markers help without being compulsory: 起初……后来……最终 and 从此 (承接); 不但……而且……, 更重要的是 (递进); 或者 (选择); 也就是说, 换句话说 (解说); 总而言之, 综上所述, 总之 (总括). A 并列 often needs no connective and overlaps with hsk7-g79. The standard (高147) gives 在一起一年多了……从此我们的生活就多了一份彼此间的牵挂 for the 承接, and 总而言之吧，那时小小的农场真可谓人才聚集 for the 总括.
Two reading rules: a 承接 keeps the order of events, and the 总括 comes after what it gathers. Do not mix up this classification by meaning with the one by form (hsk7-g78, hsk7-g79): 起初……后来……最终 is both "with connectives" and 承接, and three images with no connective make a 并列 "without connectives". When one sentence carries the point and the others prepare it, the group is a 偏正句群 (hsk7-g81). Register: written and speeches.
Examples
有人去远方工作。有人留在家乡。有人继续读书。
Yǒu rén qù yuǎnfāng gōngzuò. Yǒu rén liú zài jiāxiāng. Yǒu rén jìxù dúshū.Some go off to work far away. Some stay in their hometowns. Some carry on studying.
我们是在大学认识的。从此，每年冬天，他都会给我寄一张贺卡。
Wǒmen shì zài dàxué rènshi de. Cóngcǐ, měi nián dōngtiān, tā dōu huì gěi wǒ jì yì zhāng hèkǎ.We met at university. From then on, every winter, he has sent me a greeting card.
这家书店的书很便宜。更重要的是，老板记得每一位常来的顾客的名字。
Zhè jiā shūdiàn de shū hěn piányi. Gèng zhòngyào de shì, lǎobǎn jìde měi yí wèi cháng lái de gùkè de míngzi.The books in this bookshop are cheap. More important, the owner remembers the name of every regular customer.
周末我们可以去爬山。或者，在家看一场电影也不错。
Zhōumò wǒmen kěyǐ qù páshān. Huòzhě, zài jiā kàn yì chǎng diànyǐng yě búcuò.This weekend we could go hiking. Or watching a film at home would be nice too.
这个周末，学校的图书馆不开门。也就是说，想借书的同学得等到下周一。
Zhège zhōumò, xuéxiào de túshūguǎn bù kāimén. Yě jiù shì shuō, xiǎng jiè shū de tóngxué děi děngdào xià zhōuyī.The school library is closed this weekend. In other words, students who want to borrow books will have to wait until next Monday.
他会画画。他会作曲。他还会做一手好菜。总而言之，这个人几乎什么都会。
Tā huì huàhuà. Tā huì zuòqǔ. Tā hái huì zuò yì shǒu hǎo cài. Zǒngéryánzhī, zhège rén jīhū shénme dōu huì.He can draw. He can compose. He also cooks a mean dish. All in all, there is almost nothing this man can't do.
Common mistakes
✗ 总而言之，大家都很努力。他每天最早到，她每天最晚走。 → ✓ 他每天最早到，她每天最晚走。总而言之，大家都很努力。 (总而言之 sums up what came before: it opens the last sentence of the group).
✗ 我们可以明天出发。还是后天出发。 → ✓ 我们可以明天出发。或者，后天出发也行。 (还是 asks a question; to offer an alternative in a statement, say 或者).
✗ 这家店很便宜。更重要的是，东西很贵。 → ✓ 这家店很便宜。更重要的是，东西也很好。 (a 递进 goes the same way, one notch higher; to oppose, use 然而).