LingoflyDiscourse connectors: position in the sentence and the comma
Sin embargo, además and por cierto are not conjunctions. A conjunction glues two halves of one sentence. These stand in a sentence of their own and look back at the one before. For example: “El hotel era caro. Sin embargo, no había otra opción” — The hotel was expensive. Still, there was no other option. A rule from the Spanish course: worked out on examples, not memorized as a wording.
How it works
Sin embargo, además and por cierto are not conjunctions. A conjunction glues two halves of one sentence. These stand in a sentence of their own and look back at the one before.
Their usual place is the start, after the full stop, with a comma straight after: Estudió mucho. Sin embargo, no aprobó. Without that comma the sentence reads wrong, and in writing it gives a foreigner away.
The pair pero and sin embargo shows the difference best. Pero is a conjunction: inside the sentence, comma before it, none after. Sin embargo follows the full stop and takes its comma after. Using both at once is the mistake.
Such a word can also stand mid-sentence, and then it sits between two commas: es cómodo y, además, más barato.
Table
| job | word | position | example |
|---|---|---|---|
| ordering | en primer lugar | sentence start + comma | En primer lugar, es caro |
| addition | además | at the start or wrapped in commas | Además, no hay sitio |
| contrast | sin embargo | after the full stop + comma | Sin embargo, no funcionó |
| contrast (conjunction) | pero | inside the sentence, comma before | es caro, pero me gusta |
| a pair of arguments | por un lado / por otro lado | at the start of both sentences | Por un lado… por otro lado… |
| clarification | es decir | wrapped in commas | Es decir, que no viene |
| summary | en resumen | start of the final sentence | En resumen, no nos conviene |
| an aside | por cierto | sentence start + comma | Por cierto, llamó tu madre |
| likelihood | quizás / tal vez | at the start, often + subjuntivo | Quizás venga mañana |
| likelihood | a lo mejor | at the start, ordinary form only | A lo mejor viene mañana |
By example
- The hotel was expensive. Still, there was no other option
- On the one hand it is faster; on the other, it costs twice as much
- By the way, did you end up returning the car?
How the rule settles in your head
A rule is not memorized from an explanation. It is memorized from an attempt to use it and a mistake — that is why the app delivers it mixed in with words, not as a separate lesson: it resurfaces exactly where you forgot it.
Frequently asked
Discourse connectors: how does it work in Spanish?
Sin embargo, además and por cierto are not conjunctions. A conjunction glues two halves of one sentence. These stand in a sentence of their own and look back at the one before.
What does it look like in a Spanish example sentence?
“El hotel era caro. Sin embargo, no había otra opción” — The hotel was expensive. Still, there was no other option. A rule is easier to test on sentences like this than to memorize as a wording: what surfaces in conversation is the sentence.