This is a free online Spanish grammar lesson. In order to write sentences and more complex texts in Spanish, we need to learn a certain number of "connectors" in order to give consistency to the information. It is also important to learn when and when not to use "connectors."
What are "connectors?"
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In this lesson we going to separate them into 4 groups: Adhesión (Addition), Oposición (Opposition), Causa (Cause) y Consecuencia (Consequence).
Addition of ideas.
When we want to add ideas or to give more information about the same idea we have some connectors that we can use to do it.
Y (And)
Además (Also)/ Asimismo (Also)
También (Also, besides)
For example: "El presidente dijo que quiere invertir más en educación, además, agregó que la educación es la base de una sociedad civilizada y, también es el principal factor de solución de muchos problemas sociales".
(The president said he wants to invest more in education, he also added that education is the foundation of a civilized society and also it is the main factor in solving many social problems).
Opposition
The next connectors are used when we are contrasting opposing ideas.
Pero (but)
Me gustaría jugar hoy al tenis, pero me duele el brazo." (I would like to play tennis today, but my arm hurts.)
Sin embargo (however)
"En su familia todos son altos, sin embargo, ella es baja." (In her family all are tall, however, she is short)
Aunque (Although)
"Aunque come mucho no sube de peso".( Altough she eats a lot she does not gain weight.)
Cause
Porque (Because)
"Porque" is a connector that we have to put in the middle of the sentence.
"Traje paraguas porque estaba lloviendo cuando salí" (I brought an umbrella because it was raining when I left)
Como (Because)
"Como" is a connector that we have to use at the beginning of the sentence.
"Como estaba lloviendo cuando salí, traje paraguas" (Because it was raining when I left, i brought an umbrella)
A causa de (que) (Because)
It is used in the middle or beginning of a sentence.
"A causa de la contaminación no se puede nadar en el río". (Because of the contamination you can not swim in the river).
"A causa de que el río está contaminado, no se puede nadar en él". (Because the river is polluted, you can not swim in it)
Dado que (Because)
Ya que (Because)
Puesto que (Because)
These last three connectors mean that the cause is known by the interlocutor. They are more formal than "como"y "porque", and we can use them in the middle or beginning of a sentence.
"Dado que la inflación fue del 30 % tuvimos que pedir un aumento de salario". (Because inflation was 30% we had to ask for a raise).
"Juan Carlos no jugará el próximo partido de fútbol, ya que se rompió su rodilla el domingo pasado". (Juan Carlos will not play the next football game because he broke his knee last Sunday)
Gracias a (que)
We use this connector when the connotation is positive.
"Gracias a ese club, conocí a muchas personas agradables". (Thanks to this club, I met many nice people).
"Gracias a que me asocié a ese club, conocí a muchas personas agradables". (Because I joined this club, I met many nice people).
Por culpa (de)
We use this connector when the connotation is negative.
"Por culpa de la tormenta, se cortó la luz". (Because of the storm, the power went off)
"Por culpa de que llovió, se cortó la luz". (Because it rained, it went off)
Consequence
Entonces (Then)
Así que (So)
Por lo tanto (Therefore)
En consecuencia (In consequense)
These connectors are to express the consequences of the information previously given.
"Marcos se fue de vacaciones, por lo tanto cerró la tienda". (Marcos went on vacation, so he closed the store).
"Se peleaban a menudo, así que se separaron". (They fought often, so they separated)
This free online Spanish grammar lesson covered a somewhat complex topic. For more help with complex topics of Spanish grammar, as a Spanish instructor, I recommend any of the Spanish books in the Practice Makes Perfect series available at Amazon.com and Barnes and Noble book stores. I also recommend the Verbarrator which is interactive Spanish verb conjugation software.
Free Online Spanish Grammar Lesson - Spanish Connectors BARNES AND NOBLE TEXTBOOK STORE NYC
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