Let’s continue studying today the coordinate conjunctions, las conjunciones coordinadas, in Spanish.
1. bien… bien – uno… otro – ora… ora – ya… ya
These conjunction pairs usually express an idea of exclusion or alternation of the elements that they link and indicate that these ideas don’t occur simultaneously. Here are some examples:
Bien a mí, bien a tu padre, tendrás que contarlo todo. (Either to me or to your father, you will have to tell it all.)
Uno para mí, otro para ti. (One for me, another one for you.)
Ora por una cosa, ora por otra, nunca consigo llamarla. (Now for one reason, now for another, I never get to call her.)
Ya por la autopista, ya por el camino de tierra, iremos igual. (Be it on the highway, be it on a dirt road, we’ll go anyway.)
2. mas – pero (but)
Mas and pero both mean “but”. Mas is more formal and rarely used.
Me encantaría ir, mas no tengo tiempo. (I’d love to go, but I don’t have time.) – more formal
Me encantaría ir, pero no tengo tiemo. (I’d love to go, but I don’t have time.) – everyday spoken Spanish
3. sino (not… but…)
No quiero café sino té. (I don’t want coffe, but tea.)
No quiero comer fruta sino peras. (I don’t want to eat fruit, except pears.)
Nunca fui a Bariloche sino en invierno. (I’ve never been to Bariloche except in winter.)
Este hombre no hace otra cosa sino reclamar. (This man won’t do anything but complain.)
No sólo aplaudían, sino que taconeaban para expresar su admiración. (They were not only applauding, but also stomping to express their admiration.)
No sólo yo sino todos salimos a la calle para mirar la noche estrellada. (Not only me, but everybody else went out to watch the starry night.)
4. aunque (although, even though, even if)
Aunque no te guste, tendrás que hacerlo. (Even if you don’t like it, you will have to do it.)
Saldré esta noche aunque llueva. (I will go out tonight even if it rains.)
No lo podré creer aunque lo vea con mis propios ojos. (I won’t believe it even if I see it with my own eyes.)
We use aunque with the verb in the indicative mood when the speaker has previous knowledge of the situation being stated.
Aunque me dedico muchas horas al estudio, no consigo hablar inglés perfectamente. (Even though I study for many hours, I can’t speak English perfectly.)
Aunque llueve mucho aquí, es un lugar muy agradable para mí. (Although it rains a lot here, it’s a very nice place for me.)
We use aunque with the subjunctive mood when the speaker doesn’t have previous knowledge of the situation being stated or if he’s not interested to show this lack of knowledge.
Aunque me dedique muchas horas al estudio, no conseguiré hablar inglés perfectamente. (Even if I study many hours, I won’t be able to speak English perfectly.)
Aunque me encante el contacto con el agua, no consigo nadar. (Even though I like to be in contact with water, I can’t swim.)
5. sin embargo (however, nevertheless)
Sin embargo must come between commas or semi-colons when it’s used in the middle of a sentence.
No se soportan y, sin embargo, mantienen las apariencias en las reuniones sociales. (They can’t stand each other; however, they keep appearances in social gatherings.)
Tenía muchos motivos para renunciar al cargo; sin embargo, no lo hizo. (He had many reasons to quit his job; he didn’t, however.)
Por hoy es todo. Nos vemos prontito.
