Conjunctions in Spanish

• Conjunctions are also known as connecting words and can be used to avoid repetition.

• English conjunctions include words such as and, but, or and because.

• Common conjunctions in Spanish are: y (and), porque (because), pero (but), si (if) and que (that).

• Use conjunctions with the subjunctive mood to talk about possibility and probability.

In English, conjunctions are words such as and, but, or and because.

Conjunctions can be used to help avoid repetition.

Look at these two sentences:

Me gustan las patatas fritas. - I like chips.

Me gusta la ensalada. - I like salad.

These two sentences could be together by adding the conjunction y (and) and removing the repetition of me gusta (I like):

Me gustan las patatas fritas y la ensalada. - I like chips and salad.

Conjunctions can also be used to join together two simple sentences or ideas to form one extended sentence.

Look at these two sentences:

Me gustan los gatos. - I like cats.

No me gustan los perros. - I don’t like dogs.

The two sentences could be joined together by using either pero (but) or aunque (although).

Me gustan los gatos pero no me gustan los perros. - I like cats but I don't like dogs.

Me gustan los gatos, sin embargo, no me gustan los perros. - I like cats, although I don't like dogs.

Common conjunctions in Spanish include:

Examples:

Escucho música mientras lavo los platos. - I listen to music while I wash the dishes.

Es el libro que prefiero. - It’s the book that I prefer.

Conjunctions can sometimes come at the start of the sentence. The most common ones are cuando (when) and si (if):

Cuando hace calor, juego al fútbol en el parque. - When it’s hot, I play football in the park.

Si hace frío, llevo un abrigo. - If it’s cold I wear a coat.

Practise what you've learned about conjunctions in Spanish with this quiz.

Further conjunctions include:

1. no…ni…ni - neither … nor

No quiero ni fruta ni verduras. - I don’t want either fruit or vegetables.

2. para que - so that, in order that

Para and para que both mean in order to or so that, but are used in different ways.

When the subject is the same throughout the sentence, use para.

For example:

Estoy aquí para estudiar. - I am here so that I can study / I am here in order to study.

Dani necesita dinero para pagar. - Dani needs money to pay or he/she needs money in order to pay.

When there is a change of subject, use para que plus the verb in the subjunctive mood. In this case the que introduces the change of subject.

For example:

Ayudo a mi madre para que pueda descansar. - I help my mother so that she can rest.

You can find out more about using more the present subjunctive in this guide.

Now you have learned about conjunctions in Spanish why not explore imperatives in Spanish?