HSK 6 · VERSION 2.0#12
Emphatic Inclusion with “lián...dōu / yě...”
连……都 / 也……
How it works
连……都 / 也 marks emphatic inclusion: even an unexpected, extreme, or minimal case falls within the statement. The pattern expresses scale and speaker expectation, not continuity.
The pattern
连 + Focused Item + 都 / 也 + Predicate
Example sentences
忙到这个程度，他这几天连吃饭睡觉的时间都快没有了。
He has been so busy that these days he barely has time even to eat or sleep.
事情发展得太突然，大家连最基本的准备都来不及做。
The situation developed so suddenly that no one even had time to make the most basic preparations.
他一整天都把自己关在屋里，连平时最喜欢的书都没翻一下。
He shut himself in his room all day and did not even open his favorite book.
Key point
连 introduces the focused item, and 都 or 也 links it to the predicate. Longer sentences may intensify the effect, but the core meaning remains "even."