A conjunction is a word that creates a relation among words, phrases, clauses or sentences. Conjunctions have no meaning by themselves, they only relate.
Some conjunctions in Spanish have different meanings, therefore it is possible to find them performing different functions.
Conjunciones Copulativas
These conjunctions coordinate two or more words that have the same function. They can put together sentences too. These conjunctions are:
y / and
e / and
ni / neither, nor
Examples:
Compré musica rusa y turca. / I bought Russian and Turkish music.
Tenía verguenza e ira. / He was ashamed and angry.
Vió el reloj y recordó su cita. / He saw the watch and remembered his appointment.
No comió ni bebió agua / He did not eat or drink water.
Conjunciones Disyuntivas
These conjunctions put together words or sentences to express different or conflicting alternatives. These conjunctions are:
u / or
o / or, either
Examples:
Tú o él cocinarán. / Either you or he will cook.
O nos ayudas o te vas. / Either you help us or you leave.
Uno u otro camino te lleva. / Either road will take you.
Conjunciones Distributivas
These conjunctions put together words or sentences to express different options.
These conjunctions are:
ya ... ya / now ... now
bien ... bien / either ... or
ora ... ora /
será ... ora /
fuera ... fuera / either ... or
Examples:
Comerás ya en el comedor, ya en la cocina./ You will eat now in the dining room, now in the kitchen.
Respondes bien con frialdad, bien con pasión./ You answer either with coldness, or with passion.
Fuera en frío, fuera en calor, el motor funcionaba bien./ Either in the cold or in the heat, the engine worked OK.
Conjunciones Adversativas
These conjunctions indicate opposition among the elements that they join.
These conjunctions are:
Pero / but
Mas / however
Sino / but, rather
Sin embargo / nevertheless, however
No obstante / regardless
Antes bien / on the contrary
Con todo / even so
Más bien que / rather than
Fuera de / apart from
Excepto / except
Salvo / Except (for)
Menos / but
Más que / even if, however much
Antes / before
Que no /
Examples:
Quería un helado, pero no tenía dinero. / I wanted an ice cream, but I did not have enough money.
Él no podía descansar sino trabajar mas. / He could not rest, he would rather work harder.
Salgo a correr todos los días, excepto cuando llueve. / I jog every day, except when it rains.
Conjunciones Completivas o Complementantes
These conjunctions subordinate one sentence to another. The most common is que / that.
Examples:
Soñé que volaba. / I dreamed that I was flying.
Díle que no me gusta. / Tell him that I don't like it.
Conjunciones Causales
These conjunctions always subordinate one sentence to another. The most common are:
Porque / because
Pues / because
Ya que / since, seeing that
Puesto que / although, since, as long as
Pues que / since
Supuesto que / assuming that
Que / that, because
De que / of
Como / as, since
Por la razón de que / for the reason that
En vista de que / having seen that
Dado que / given that
Por cuanto / in as much as
A causa de que / because
Por lo cual / therefore
Examples:
Sabían que la amabas ya que la besaste. / They knew you loved her since you kissed her.
Puesto que no veniste, tuve que estudiar solo. / Since you did not come, I had to study by myself.
Como tenía dinero, todos lo seguían. / Since he had money, everybody followed him.
Conjunciones Consecutivas
These conjunctions express the logical result of any action. The most common are the following ones:
Luego / then
Así pues / therefore
Conque /
Así que / As soon as, after, that is why
Por consiguiente / therefore
Por tanto / therefore
Por lo tanto / therefore
Pues / then
De manera que / in such a way that
De modo que / so that, in such a way that
Que / that, because
Examples:
¿Quieres dinero? ¡pues trabaja! / Do you want money? Then work!
Se cayó la niña, así que la llevaron al doctor. / The girl fell down, that's why she was taken to the doctor.
Ella no comprendía, por lo tanto se fué. / She did not understand, therefore she left.
Conjunciones Condicionales
They express the condition that must be met to realize what is indicated in the principal sentence. The most common are:
Si / if
Como / as, since
En caso de que / in case that
Siempre que / whenever, provided that, as long as
Con tal de que /
Examples:
Como no venías, tuvimos que partir. / Since you didn't come, we had to leave.
En caso de que pierdas las llaves, aquí tienes otras / In case that you lose the keys, here you have other ones.
Comeremos conejo siempre que lo cazemos / We will eat rabbit provided that we will hunt it.
Conjunciones Finales
These conjunctions introduce a sentence that will realize the main verb action; such as:
Para que / in order that, so that
A fin de que / so that, in order that
Con el objeto de que / with the purpose of
Con el fin de que / with the purpose of
Examples:
Te doy dinero para que no olvides mis cosas. / I am giving you money so that you won´t forget my stuff.
Trabajó duro con el fin de que pudiera comprarse un coche. / He worked hard for the purpose of buying a car.
Conjunciones Concesivas
They introduce a sentence that expresses difficulty in fulfilling what the main sentence requires. This difficulty does not always avoid the main action fulfillment. The most common ones are:
Aunque / although
Por más que /
Si bien /
Aun cuando / even if
A pesar de que / despite
Así /
Como /
Siquiera / though, although, whether, or
Ya que / since, seeing that
Bien que /
Mal que /
Examples:
Aunque le disgustaba bailar, bailó toda la noche / Although he didn't like to dance, he danced all night long.
No hemos ahorrado lo suficiente a pesar de que nos hemos esforzado / We have not saved enough, despite the fact we have tried very hard.
