Spanish Grammar Tip – Connectives
Los conectores discursivos – Spanish Connectives
Los conectores (Spanish Connectives) are words or groups of words that join ideas by clearly expressing how they relate to each other. An appropriate use of connectors gives a greater coherence to our speech and makes it more intelligible to those listening or reading. In fact, connectives can be used in both written and oral texts. Their main function, same as in English and as their name implies, is to connect different parts of a text, that is, words, phrases or even whole paragraphs. When a text is constructed, it is crucial to highlight the logical relations that link the different ideas so that our interlocutor can interpret them correctly. A new idea can be added to, for example, complement, contradict or reinforce a concept previously expressed. Therefore, using connectives properly will result in a final text that is coherent and easy to understand.
Below the main categories of connectors are briefly explained.
Tiempo (time)
Los conectores temporales allow placing actions or events in time, either with respect to other actions or facts or with respect to the moment in which the speaker talks.
| SPANISH | ENGLISH |
| al principio | at the beginning |
| antes (de) | before |
| después (de), luego, a continuación | afterwards, then |
| al mismo tiempo | at the same time |
| finalmente | finally |
Orden (order)
Los conectores de orden are those that can be used to expose an orderly series of ideas or arguments, either simply by establishing a sequence or by hierarchizing the ideas according to their importance.
| SPANISH | ENGLISH |
| primero | firstly |
| en segundo / tercer lugar | secondly, thirdly |
| por un lado / por otro lado | on one hand / on the other hand |
| y | and |
| además, también | moreover, also |
| por último | lastly |
| para resumir, en conclusión | in conclusion |
Causa (cause)
Los conectores causales express the cause or raison d’être of something.
| SPANISH | ENGLISH |
| porque, puesto que, dado que, ya que, debido a | because, due to, since, as |
Finalidad (purpose)
Los conectores de finalidad express the purpose, the aim, the objective of an action.
| SPANISH | ENGLISH |
| para, con el fin / objetivo de | for, (in order) to, with the aim / objective to |
Consecuencia (consequence)
Los conectores de consecuencia introduce actions or events that are a consequence or result of other actions or events.
| SPANISH | ENGLISH |
| así que, entonces, por (lo) tanto, por eso, por consiguiente | therefore, consequently, so |
Oposición (opposition)
Los conectores adversativos introduce opposing, contradictory or incompatible ideas. They are employed to formulate an opposition, a restriction or an objection.
| SPANISH | ENGLISH |
| pero | but |
| sin embargo, no obstante | however, nevertheless |
| a pesar de, pese a | despite |
Explicación (explication)
Los conectores reformulativos are those that allow developing a more precise way to explicit an idea through clarifications, reformulations, precisions, examples, etc.
| SPANISH | ENGLISH |
| es decir, o sea | that is, i.e. |
| por ejemplo | for example, e.g. |
Referencia (reference)
Los conectores de referencia can be used to introduce a topic or be placed in it by referring to actions or events that have already been mentioned or that are known by the speakers.
| SPANISH | ENGLISH |
| en cuanto a, con respecto a, por lo que concierne | with regard to, as to |
Let’s look at some examples:
Primero me ducho y luego desayuno. → First, I shower and then I have breakfast.
Pilar trabaja mucho porque le gusta lo que hace. → Pilar works a lot since she likes what she does.
Hace mucho frío así que ponte el abrigo. → It is very cold and so put your coat on.
Laura va a preparar un pastel para su cumpleaños. → Laura is going to make a cake for her birthday.
En cuanto a las vacaciones, este verano quiero ir a Tenerife. → As to the holidays, this summer I want to go to Tenerife.
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