Connectives

Question 1

and

The lawyer asked me for my ID, wrote down my personal details and told me he’d call me.

Answer 1

y
“ee”

• Use “e” if the word that follows the conjunction starts with an i (ee) sound. *If the word following the conjunction starts with a diphthong (ia/hia, ie/hie, io/hio), we use y as usual.

El abogado me pidió el DNI, anotó mis datos y me dijo que me llamaría.

Question 2

Also, in additon

She also bought a box of chocolates.

Answer 2

además
“ah-deh-mahs”

Compró, además, una caja de bombones.

Question 3

Too aswell

I hadn’t understood the joke, but when I saw everyone laughing, I did as well.

Answer 3

también
“tahm-byehn”

No había entendido el chiste, pero cuando vi que todo el mundo se reía, yo me reí también

Question 4

In addition to

He teaches philosophy and theology as well as history

Answer 4

además de
“ah-deh-mahs deh”

Además de historia, enseña filosofía y teología.

Question 5

Even

You must clean everywhere, even places where you think mom won’t look.

Answer 5

Incluso
“eeng-kloo-soh”

Tienes que limpiar todo, incluso donde creas que mamá no va a mirar.

Question 6

But

I want to buy you something but I don’t have any money.

Can be used to indicate contradiction or emphasis.

Answer 6

Pero
“peh-roh”

Te quiero comprar algo, pero no tengo dinero.

Question 7

However

It’s raining. However, I’m going to go for a run

Answer 7

Sin embargo
“seen ehm-bahr-goh”

Está lloviendo; sin embargo, voy a salir a correr.

Less formal than no obstante. It can be written between a semicolon and a comma or between a period and a comma.

Question 8

although, though, even though, even if

I’ve already eaten lunch even though it’s only 11 a.m

Very commonly used to express a contradiction or something that goes against the expectation.

Answer 8

Aunque
“own-keh”

Ya he almorzado aunque solo son las 11 de la mañana.

Question 9

Nevertheless

He lied to me. However, I forgave him.

Answer 9

No obstante
“noh ohbs-tahn-teh”

Me mintió. No obstante, lo perdoné.

Rather formal and is normally used after a period and before a comma.

Question 10

Despite/ In spite of

I arrived on time in spite of the traffic.

Answer 10

A pesar de
“ah peh-sahr deh”

Llegué a tiempo a pesar del tráfico.

Question 11

Because

I’m not going to the party because I’m ill.

Mainly used to answer por qué (why) questions.

Answer 11

Porque
“pohr-keh”

No voy a la fiesta porque estoy enfermo.

Question 12

because, since, as, if

Since it was snowing, we decided to stay home.

Answer 12

Como
“koh-moh”

Como estaba nevando, decidimos quedarnos en casa.

When used to mean “since” and then give a reason, it’s always the first word in the sentence.

Question 13

Due to, because of

Marta is working from home today because of the public transport strike.

Answer 13

Debido a
“deh-bee-doh ah”

Marta trabaja hoy desde casa debido a la huelga de transporte público.

Question 14

Thanks to

We won the case thanks to our lawyer’s skill in the courtroom.

Answer 14

Gracias a
Spain: “grah-thyahs ah”
Latin America: “grah-syahs ah”

Ganamos el caso gracias a la aptitud de nuestro abogado en la sala de juicios

Question 15

Because of

We’ve arrived late because of Luis. He wasn’t ready when we went to pick him up.

Answer 15

Por culpa de
“pohr kool-pah deh”

Hemos llegado tarde por culpa de Luis, que no estaba listo cuando fuimos a buscarlo.

Question 16

Apart from

Apart from pretty, Lorna is very intelligent.

Answer 16

Aparte de
“ah-pahr-teh deh”

Lorna, aparte de bella, es muy inteligente.

Question 17

When

I always feel sad when it rains.

Answer 17

Cuando
“kwahn-doh”

Siempre me pongo triste cuando llueve.

Followed by the indicative mood when followed by an action that has happened or happens in general and the subjunctive when the action hasn’t been completed yet.

Question 18

Where

I’m at the restaurant where we ate the other day.

Answer 18

Donde
“dohn-deh”

Estoy en el restaurante donde comimos el otro día.

Question 19

Then/ So

I don’t have any money, so I can’t buy a house.

Answer 19

Luego
“lweh-goh”

No tengo dinero, luego no puedo comprar una casa.

Means the same as así que and is used in the same way, but is less common.

Question 20

Or

What color do you prefer, green or blue?

Answer 20

o
“oh”

¿Qué color prefieres, verde o azul?

Question 21

o that, so, in order to/for

Leave your email address so that we can stay in touch

I’ve switched the lights off so that you can sleep.

Answer 21

Para que
“pah-rah keh”

Deja tu correo electrónico para que podamos mantenernos en contacto.

He apagado las luces para que puedas dormir.

Question 22

For that reason

It’s raining. That’s why everyone has an umbrella out.

Answer 22

Por eso
“pohr eh-soh”

Está lloviendo. Por eso todo el mundo anda con paraguas.

Question 23

because, since, for, then, well

We’ve decided to sell the house because we want to move to Poland.

Answer 23

Pues
“pwehs”

Hemos decidido vender la casa, pues queremos mudarnos a Polonia.

Used to express cause, motive or reason. It can also show sequential value, a question or to emphasize the phrase.

Question 24

on the other hand

We are in the midst of an economic crisis, but on the other hand, people are still consuming.

Answer 24

por otro lado
“pohr oh-troh lah-doh”

Estamos en crisis económica, pero por otro lado, la gente sigue consumiendo

Question 25

In summary

In summary, there is no reason to advocate for one theory over the other.

Answer 25

En resumen
“ehn reh-soo-mehn”

En resumen, no hay razón de abogar por una teoría en vez de la otra.

Question 26

After all

After all, money is just ephemeral. I like spending it in experiences rather than objects.

Answer 26

Después de todo
“dehs-pwehs deh toh-doh”

El dinero es efímero, después de todo. Prefiero gastarlo en experiencias en lugar de objetos.

Question 27

i.e, that is to say

The swimming pool is contaminated; that is to say, don’t swim in it!

Answer 27

Es decir
Spain: “ehs deh-theer”
Latin America: “ehs deh-seer”

La piscina está contaminada, es decir, ¡no te bañes en ella!

Question 28

In that case

In this case, we have to use the rule of three.

Answer 28

En este caso
“ehn ehs-teh kah-soh”

En este caso, tenemos que aplicar la regla de tres simple.

Question 29

Instead of

Why don’t you help me instead of sitting there watching?

Answer 29

En vez de
“ehn behth deh”

¿Por qué no me ayudas en vez de quedarte ahí mirando?

Question 30

Or better

Is this evolution something necessary or rather a natural process?

Answer 30

o más bien

¿Es esta evolución algo necesario o más bien un proceso natural?

Question 31

Even if

The government will introduce the new measures even if it doesn’t have the support of the opposition.

Answer 31

aun si
“ah-oon see”

El gobierno implantará las nuevas medidas aun si no cuenta con el apoyo de la oposición

Question 32

First, firstly

First, peel the onion.

Answer 32

Primero
“pree-meh-roh”

Primero, pela la cebolla.

Question 33

(provided, as long as, if, whereas)

As long as you study with dedication, you’ll pass the exam.

This is used in the same way as siempre que and is also followed by the subjunctive.

Answer 33

mientras que
“myehn-trahs keh”

Mientras que estudies con dedicación, aprobarás el examen

This is used in the same way as siempre que and is also followed by the subjunctive.

Question 34

etc.

To be able to bake any kind of cake you need flour, eggs, sugar, etcetera.

Answer 34

Etcétera
Spain: “eht-theh-teh-rah”
Latin America: “eht-seh-teh-rah”

Para poder hornear cualquier pastel se necesita harina, huevos, azúcar, etcétera.

Question 35

Finally

There were balloons, games, music, sodas, a big cake. In a nutshell, it was quite a birthday party.

Answer 35

En fin
“ehn feen”

Hubo globos, juegos, música, refrescos, una gran tarta… En fin, fue una fiesta de cumpleaños por todo lo alto.

Question 36

Especially, mostly

I prefer meat to fish, but above all, I like a juicy steak.

Answer 36

Sobre todo
“soh-breh toh-doh”

Prefiero la carne al pescado, pero sobre todo, me gusta un filete jugoso.

Question 37

Unless

Unless we leave now, we’ll be late to the party.

Answer 37

A menos que
“ah meh-nohs keh”

A menos que salgamos ahora, llegaremos tarde a la fiesta.

Question 38

From now on

Since your method hasn’t worked out, we’ll do it my way from now on.

Answer 38

A partir de ahora
“ah pahr-teer deh ah-oh-rah”

Como tu método no ha funcionado, a partir de ahora lo haremos a mi manera.

Question 39

Beforehand

Answer 39

En otro tiempo
“ehn oh-troh tyehm-poh”

Question 40

Thereby

Thus, we can conclude that the results are statistically significant

Answer 40

De este modo
“deh ehs-teh moh-doh”

De este modo, podemos concluir que los resultados sí tienen relevancia estadística

Question 41

Neither

I don’t like meat or fish.

Answer 41

Ni
“nee”

No me gusta la carne ni el pescado

Used to express negation or to join 2 or more negative elements in a sentence. Can be used alone or in pairs to add more emphasis.

Question 42

Neither … nor

I have neither time nor money to go on vacation this year.

Answer 42

Ni … ni

No tengo ni tiempo ni dinero para ir de vacaciones este año.

Used to express negation or to join 2 or more negative elements in a sentence. Can be used alone or in pairs to add more emphasis.

Question 43

• and

Used instead of y when the word that follows the conjunction starts with an i (ee) sound.*

Luis is tall, handsome and intelligent

Answer 43

e
“eh”

Luis es alto, guapo e inteligente.

Question 44

Or

if the word that follows the conjunction starts with an o (oh) sound.

He must be seven or eight years old.

Answer 44

u
“oo”

Tendrá siete u ocho años.

Question 45

either…or

O compras una casa pequeña o ahorras un poco más para poder comprar una más grande.

Answer 45

o … o

Either you buy a small house or you save up a little more so you can buy a bigger one

Question 46

that is to say, in other words, i.e.

The man turned South, in other words, he turned right.

Used to explain or clarify what you’ve just said. This conjunction is a bit formal and should always be written between commas.

Answer 46

esto es
“ehs-toh ehs”

El hombre giró en dirección sur, esto es, giró a la derecha.

Question 47

that is to say, in other words, i.e.

I’m an only child, in other words, I don’t have any brothers or sisters.

commonly used. Should always be written between commas.

Answer 47

es decir
Spain: “ehs deh-theer”
Latin America: “ehs deh-seer”

Soy hijo único, es decir, no tengo hermanos ni hermanas.

commonly used. Should always be written between commas.

Question 48

But

The very formal counterpart to pero.

I am a valiant knight, but I am not aggressive.

Answer 48

mas
“mahs”

Soy un caballero valiente, mas no soy agresivo.

Notice the lack of accent mark, as opposed to más (more)

Question 49

But

• Normally used when the previous part of the sentence is negative (no…sino).

We haven’t bought a house but an apartment.

Answer 49

sino
“see-noh”

No hemos comprado una casa sino un piso.

Question 50

so that, so, in order to/for

This one’s more formal than para que.

In order for Spanish people to stop smoking, we’re going to create a new law.

Answer 50

a fin de que
“ah feen deh keh”

This one’s more formal than para que.

A fin de que los españoles dejen de fumar, vamos a crear una nueva ley.

Question 51

Formal version

so that, so, in order to

We’ve created a new system so that our workers can have more free time.

Answer 51

con el fin de que

Hemos creado un nuevo sistema con el fin de que nuestros trabajadores puedan tener más tiempo libre.

Question 52

so that, so, in order to

I am studying a lot in order to pass the exam.

Answer 52

con el objeto de que

Estoy estudiando mucho con el objeto de que apruebe el examen

Means the same and is used the same as con el fin de que but is even more formal.

Question 53

for, because of, due to

He yelled at me for breaking a plate.

Answer 53

por
“pohr”

Me gritó por romper un plato.

Used to introduce a cause or reason for an action or event. It’s followed by a noun, infinitive verb or perfect infinitive verb, never a conjugated verb (when used as a conjunction).

Question 54

(since, because)

I haven’t bought the phone because I don’t have any money.

Answer 54

Ya que
* “yah keh”

Puesto que
* “pooehs-toh keh”

en vista de que
* “ehn bees-tah deh keh”

No he comprado el teléfono, ya que no tengo dinero.

These all mean the same, can be used interchangeably and are somewhat formal.

Question 55

because, or else

Stop running, or else you’ll fall.

Used in informal situations. It also normally has the connotation of a warning or hidden advice.

Answer 55

que
“keh”

Deja de correr que te vas a caer.

Used in informal situations. It also normally has the connotation of a warning or hidden advice.

Question 56

If

If you go to the grocery store, buy tomatoes.

Mostly used to introduce a condition.

Answer 56

si
“see”

Si vas a la tienda, compra tomates.

Mostly used to introduce a condition.

Question 57

If

If you don’t come, I won’t buy ice cream.

Used when you want to warn or threaten someone. The verb following …. is in the subjunctive form.

Answer 57

como
“koh-moh”

Como no vengas, no compraré helado.

Used when you want to warn or threaten someone. The verb following como is in the subjunctive form.

Question 58

provided, if, as long as

You can play provided you finish your homework

Also followed by the subjunctive form to express doubt or uncertainty.

Answer 58

siempre que
“syehm-preh keh”

Puedes jugar siempre que termines tus deberes.

Also followed by the subjunctive form to express doubt or uncertainty.

Question 59

provided that, on condition that

I’ll lend it to you on condition that you give it back to me before Monday.

Answer 59

con tal de que
* “kohn tahl deh keh”

a condición de que
* Spain: “ah kohn-dee-thyohn deh keh”
* Latin America: “ah kohn-dee-syohn deh keh”

Both of these conjunctions are also followed by the subjunctive form.

Te lo presto a condición de que me lo devuelvas antes del lunes.

Question 60

Both of these conjunctions are also followed by the subjunctive form.

If you decide to come, buy some wine.

A more formal version of si. It’s normally used at the beginning of sentences and, again, is followed by the subjunctive form.

Answer 60

en caso de que
“ehn kah-soh deh keh”

En caso de que decidas venir, compra vino.

A more formal version of si. It’s normally used at the beginning of sentences and, again, is followed by the subjunctive form.

Question 61

So

I arrived late, so I wasn’t able to go in

Answer 61

así que
“ah-see keh”

Normally follows a comma or a period.

Llegué tarde, así que no pude entrar.

Question 62

so, so that

Finish quickly so we can go already.

Answer 62

de modo que
“deh moh-doh keh”

Termina rápido, de modo que podamos irnos ya.

Followed by the subjunctive when there’s doubt or uncertainty that the action will happen.

Question 63

therefore, consequently

There’s a lot of poverty in Spain, therefore, changes need to be made.

Answer 63

por lo tanto
* “pohr loh tahn-toh”

por lo consiguiente
* “pohr loh kohn-see-gyehn-teh”

Hay mucha pobreza en España. Por consiguiente, se deben hacer cambios.

These are rather formal, especially por consiguiente. They’re always followed by a comma.

Question 64

before

We have to buy the ingredients before the store closes

Answer 64

antes (de) que
“ahn-tehs deh keh”

Tenemos que comprar los ingredientes antes de que cierre la tienda.

Used to express “before doing something.” Always followed by the subjunctive.

Question 65

after

She arrived 10 minutes after the movie started.

Answer 65

después (de) que
“dehs-pwehs deh keh”

Llegó 10 minutos después de que comenzara la película.

Used to express “after doing something.” Uses the indicative when referring to a present event, the indicative or the subjunctive when referring to a past event and the subjunctive when referring to a future event.

Question 66

while

I studied for the exam while he cooked dinner.

Answer 66

mientras
“myehn-trahs keh”

Estudié para el examen mientras él cocinaba la cena.

Can be used to express that 2 actions are done at the same time. In this case, we use the indicative form of the verb even if the action hasn’t happened yet.

Question 67

as soon as

As soon as you finish your homework, we can go to the park.

Answer 67

en cuanto
“ehng kwahn-toh”

tan pronto como
“tahn prohn-toh koh-moh”

Tan pronto como termines tus deberes, podemos ir al parque.

These conjunctions are always followed by the subjunctive, unless they’re used in the past tense for something that already happened.

Question 68

until

I’m going to stay at the beach until it gets dark.

Answer 68

hasta que
“ahs-tah keh”

Me quedaré en la playa hasta que oscurezca

Hasta que is used before a verb to express the notion of “until” or “up to the point when” in relation to time or conditions.

Question 69

First of all

First of all, I’d like to thank my brother.

Answer 69

En primer lugar

En primer lugar, quiero dar las gracias a mi hermano.

Question 70

Secondly

The second time I traveled to Spain, I ended up staying for three years

Answer 70

Segundo
“seh-goon-doh”

La segunda vez que viajé a España, terminé quedándome por tres años.

Question 71

Then, at that moment

At that moment, he understood he was alone.

Answer 71

Entonces
Spain: “ehn-tohn-thehs”
Latin America: “ehn-tohn-sehs”

Entonces entendió que estaba solo.

Question 72

Next, further

Next, I want to show you my next project.

Answer 72

Para continuar
“pah-rah kohn-tee-nwahr”

Para continuar quiero mostraros mi próximo proyecto.

Question 73

Lastly

Lastly, let’s listen to this song

Answer 73

Para terminar
“pah-rah tehr-mee-nahr”

Para terminar escuchemos esta canción.

Question 74

At the same time

He was studying at the same time I was cooking.

Answer 74

Al mismo tiempo
“ahl mees-moh tyehm-poh”

Estudiaba al mismo tiempo que yo cocinaba.

Question 75

For example

We sell stationary, for example pencils, pens, notebooks and paper.)

Answer 75

Por ejemplo
“pohr eh-hehm-ploh”

Vendemos artículos de papelería, por ejemplo: lápices, bolígrafos, cuadernos y papel.

Question 76

Including

I like warm colors, including yellow and orange.

Answer 76

Entre ellos / ellas

Me gustan los colores cálidos, entre ellos el amarillo y el naranja.

Question 77

Among others

There are many different fruits: apples, pears, grapes among others.

Answer 77

Entre otros/as
“ehn-treh oh-trohs”

Hay muchas frutas diferentes: manzanas, peras, uvas, entre otras.

Question 78

Also, similarly, likewise, furthermore

We need to finish the project. Also, we should call the client.)

Answer 78

Asimismo
“ah-see-mees-moh”

Necesitamos terminar el proyecto. Asimismo, deberíamos llamar al cliente.

Question 79

Similarly, likewise, furthermore

Likewise, the contract will be signed by all the parties

Answer 79

Igualmente
“ee-gwahl-mehn-teh”

Igualmente, el contrato será firmado por todas las partes.

Question 80

Besides

We can stop by the house, besides, I forgot my wallet.

Answer 80

Aparte
“ah-pahr-teh”

Podemos pasar por la casa, aparte, olvidé mi cartera.

Question 81

As a result

As a result, he moved to Poland.

Answer 81

Como resultado
“koh-moh rreh-sool-tah-doh”

Como resultado, se mudó a Polonia.

Question 82

As a consequence, accordingly

Accordingly, we’ll only speak Spanish from now on.

Answer 82

En consecuencia
Spain: “ehn kohn-theh-kwehn-thyah”
Latin America: “ehn kohn-theh-kwehn-syah”

En consecuencia, desde ahora hablaremos solo en español.