从而【cóng'ér】

从而 links an action to the outcome it produces. The first clause says what was done; the clause after 从而 says what that achieved. It belongs to writing and formal speech – reports, news, essays.

The two clauses usually share a subject, so the second one has none of its own. The verb after 从而 is often one of change or improvement: 提高, 减少, 降低, 增加, 改善.

从而 or 所以

所以 and 因此 give a consequence of any cause. 从而 needs a deliberate action or a process in the first clause – a method – and the outcome it leads to. A plain cause, like being ill or the weather, takes 所以 or 因此.

• × 他生病了，从而没来上课 → 他生病了，所以没来上课
• × 下雨了，从而比赛取消了 → 因为下雨，比赛取消了

从而 never starts the first clause; it always sits at the head of the second.