Discourse 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
- El hotel era caro. Sin embargo, no había otra opciónThe hotel was expensive. Still, there was no other option
- Por un lado es más rápido; por otro lado, cuesta el dobleOn the one hand it is faster; on the other, it costs twice as much
- Por cierto, ¿al final devolviste el coche?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 an example sentence Spanish?
“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.