从而 / 进而 / 因而【cóng'ér / jìn'ér / yīn'ér】

从而, 进而 and 因而 all open the second clause of a written sentence and look like "and so". They differ in what the first clause is and what the second does with it.

因而 – a cause and its consequence

因而 is the neutral one: the first clause is any cause, and the second is what follows from it. It can bring in a new subject.

从而 – what an action achieves

从而 needs an action in the first clause, usually done on purpose, and the second clause is what that action accomplishes. Both clauses share a subject, and a verb follows 从而 directly.

进而 – the next step up

进而 says "and building on that, further". The second clause is a further move, not a result: you understand, and then you go on to explain; one change spreads, and then it affects something larger.

Picking the wrong one

A cause that is a state, or something nobody did, can't take 从而. A plain result can't take 进而.

• × 天气太冷，从而比赛取消了。 → 天气太冷，因而比赛取消了。
• × 他每天练习，进而通过了考试。 → 他每天练习，从而通过了考试。
• × 公司改进了技术，从而我们降低了成本。 → 公司改进了技术，从而降低了成本。