Conjunctions y, o, sino, ni

¿Es una revista o un periódico?

Conjunctions are needed to connect one little sentence with another one. In this lesson we are going to learn four simple conjunctions.

y – and

o – or

sino – but

ni – nor

y

y – and

José y Ana — Jose and Ana

Esto es un perro y eso es un gato — This is a dog, and that is a cat

¿Y qué es eso? — And what is that?

Y esto, ¿qué es? — And this, what is it?

Y tú, ¿cómo estás? — And how are you?

Try it yourself:

Y esto, ¿qué es?

A bed and a couch

Y esto, ¿qué es?

This is a newspaper and that is a magazine

Y esto, ¿qué es?

Isn’t it a fridge?

And what is it?

o

o – or

Té o café – Tea or coffee

Un coche o una moto – A car or a motorbike

The o conjunction is widely used to build so-called alternative questions.

¿Es eso una ventana o una puerta? — Is that a window or a door?

Es una ventana — It’s a window

¿Es un dormitorio o una sala? — Is it a bedroom or a living room?

Es un dormitorio — It’s a bedroom

Alternative questions have two or more options to be chosen. Don’t say “Sí” or “No” answering these questions.

Try it yourself:

Is it a house or a garage?

I think, it’s a garage

Is it a book or a copybook?

Of course, it’s a book

And what is that? A street or a square?

It seems to me, that it’s a beach

sino

sino – but

¿Es una ventana? — Is it a window?

No, no es una ventana, sino un cuadro — No, it’s not a window, but a painting

¿Es esto una hoja de papel? — Is this a sheet of paper?

Creo que no. Eso no es una hoja de papel, sino un periódico — I don’t think so. This is not a sheet of paper, but a newspaper

After sinothe verb es is optional, but it’s not really needed.

Try it yourself:

Is it a key?

Is it a glass?

No, I think it’s not a glass, but a cup

Is this a photo?

Not at all! That is not a photo, but a painting

The sino conjunction has some limited use cases. It’s not always used when you want to say “but”. It’s only used when there is sort of contrast between objects, like in our examples.

ni

ni – nor

¿Es esto una mesa o una silla? — Is that a table or a chair?

Esto no es una mesa ni una silla. Esto es un sillón — It’s neither a table, nor a chair. That is an armchair

¿Es un vaso o una taza? — Is it a glass or a cup?

Creo que no es un vaso ni una raza, sino una jarra — I think, it’s neither a glass, nor a cup, but a mug

Ni is used when the second option in an alternative question isn’t correct, either. It’s just a shorter form of saying “y no” (and not).

No es un vaso y no es una taza – It’s not a glass and not a cup

Try it yourself:

Is it a book or a dictionary?

It’s neither a book, nor a dictionary, but a sheet of paper

And what is that? A flower or a tree?

I think, it’s neither a flower, nor a tree. I think, it’s a lamp

Palabras nuevas
New words

una jarra – a mug

una chaqueta — a jacket

un gorro — a beanie

una manzana — an apple

una cuchara — a spoon

té — tea

café — coffee

un amigo — a friend (man)

una amiga — a friend (woman)

una montaña — a mountain

un puente — a bridge

un cajón — a drawer

una regla — a ruler