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Is there a difference between these two sentences

> 昨日はビールを飲んでパイを食べました。
>
> 昨日はビールを飲みパイを食べました。

More generally, when should I choose one form over the other?
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2015-04-15T17:28:28.060
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question
grammar verbs て-form
て versus combining-form for joining clauses
**EDIT:**

So it seems **my original answer was incorrect**. For the semantics of ～て
linkage, please see [this article](http://hasegawa.berkeley.edu/Papers/TE.pdf)
(many thanks to @snailboat).

Regarding the actual question, I believe verb stems and ～て are very similar
(perhaps interchangeable) in terms of semantics. However, according to my
textbook (titled _Tobira: Gateway to Advanced Japanese Learning through
Content and Multimedia_ ) and Kyle's answer, the verb stem is associated with
formality and as such, it is more often seen in formal writing.

If you would like to imply or emphasize the ordering of a sequence of
activities, a ~てから construct can be used (there are other options too).

> 朝【あさ】ご飯【はん】を食【た】べてテレビを見【み】ました。  
>  " _subject_ ate breakfast and watched TV. (in no particular order)"

> 朝【あさ】ご飯【はん】を食【た】べテレビを見【み】ました。  
>  " _subject_ ate breakfast and watched TV. (in no particular order)"

> 朝【あさ】ご飯【はん】を食【た】べてからテレビを見【み】ました。  
>  "after eating breakfast, _subject_ watched TV."

* * *

**Original (Incorrect!) Answer**

> The first sentence:
>

>> 昨日はビールを飲んでパイを食べました。

>
> implies that you drank beer, **and then** ate pie.
>
> On the other hand, the second sentence:
>

>> 昨日はビールを飲みパイを食べました。

>
> does not imply anything about the order in which you performed the two
> actions. It could be translated as "drank beer and ate pie", or "ate pie and
> drank beer".
>
> In other words, **using ~て to join sentences implies temporal ordering**. As
> a result, it is usually used to convey a sequence of actions, whether they
> take place in the past, present, or future.
>
> See [this
> answer](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/questions/2934/%E3%81%AA%E3%81%8F-vs-%E3%81%AA%E3%81%8F%E3%81%A6-and-
> stem-form-vs-%E3%81%A6form-as-conjunctions)
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2015-04-15T21:39:58.217
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answer
The conjunctive form (aka pre-ます form) sounds more
dry/learned/erudite/scholarly/formal. I hate all of those adjectives to
describe it, but I think you know what I mean. It's of a higher register than
the て form.
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2015-04-16T06:29:27.703
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answer