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🔗Connectors

But, because, although, so — the logic of a sentence.

25 concepts

Columns follow the languages switched on at the top. Gender after the word (m/f/n); IPA beneath; notes, alternatives and origins underneath — nothing is hidden.

Concept	English	Français	Español
and conjunction	and Usually reduced to /ənd/ or /ən/: fish 'n' chips.	et Never liaison after et: 'et un' = /e œ̃/, not /et œ̃/.	y Becomes e before an i-/hi- sound: padre e hijo, Francia e Italia.
or conjunction	or also: either … or	ou Où (with accent) = where. Same sound, different word.	o Becomes u before an o-/ho- sound: siete u ocho, mujeres u hombres.
but conjunction	but Weak form /bət/.	mais Homophone of mes, met, mets.	pero also: sino (after a negative: no es rojo, sino azul) Perro (two r's) = dog — tap vs trill matters.
because conjunction	because also: 'cause, since, as	parce que also: car (written/formal), puisque (since) Parce qu'il… before a vowel. Answer to pourquoi.	porque One word = because; ¿por qué? (two words, accent) = why; el porqué = the reason.
so / therefore conjunction	so also: therefore, that's why	donc also: alors, du coup (very informal, everywhere now) Final c pronounced — except sometimes in 'dis donc'.	así que also: entonces, por eso, por lo tanto
if conjunction	if also: whether	si S' before il/ils only: s'il pleut (but si elle pleut). Also 'yes' to a negative question.	si Sí (accent) = yes. Si = if.
although conjunction	although also: though, even though	bien que also: même si (+ indicative), quoique Bien que + subjunctive: bien qu'il soit tard.	aunque + indicative for facts, + subjunctive for hypotheticals.
when conjunction	when also: whenever	quand also: lorsque (written) Liaison: quand il = /kɑ̃ til/.	cuando ¿Cuándo? (accent) = the question.
while conjunction	while also: whilst (UK, formal), whereas (contrast)	pendant que also: tandis que (contrast), alors que	mientras Mientras que = whereas (contrast).
however / nevertheless adverb	however also: nevertheless, still, yet	cependant also: pourtant, toutefois, néanmoins	sin embargo also: no obstante, aun así Nothing to do with a trade embargo — 'without hindrance'.
for example phrase	for example also: for instance, e.g.	par exemple Abbreviation p. ex. 'Non mais par exemple !' = well I never!	por ejemplo Abbreviation p. ej.
that (I think that…) conjunction	that Usually dropped: I think (that) it's late. Weak form /ðət/.	que NEVER dropped: je pense qu'il est tard. Qu' before a vowel.	que Never dropped: creo que es tarde. Qué (accent) = what / how.
in order to / to preposition	in order to also: to, so as to	pour also: afin de (formal) Pour + infinitive: je travaille pour vivre.	para Para + infinitive = purpose. Por = cause/exchange — the por/para chapter of every textbook.
nevertheless / still adverb · logic	nevertheless Formal. 'Still' and 'even so' do the same job in speech.	néanmoins Formal and written. Quand même is what people actually say.	no obstante Formal; aun así is the spoken one.
on the other hand adverb · logic	on the other hand Pairs with 'on the one hand', though most people skip the first half.	en revanche Revanche is 'revenge' — the phrase has nothing to do with it any more. Par contre is the everyday one and was once considered wrong.	en cambio Cambio is 'change'.
thus / that way adverb · logic, manner	thus Formal to the point of stiffness. 'That way' or 'so' in speech.	ainsi Both 'thus' and 'in this way'. Ainsi de suite = 'and so on'.	así Completely ordinary in Spanish, unlike English 'thus'. Así es = 'that's right'.
indeed / in fact adverb · logic	indeed Confirms rather than contrasts — the opposite job from 'however'.	en effet Confirms what was just said. NOT 'in effect' — that trap catches every English speaker.	en efecto Same job, same false friend.
and yet / even so adverb	and yet 'Yet' alone at the head of a clause. English marks the surprise with intonation rather than with a word.	pourtant Not the same as cependant. Pourtant marks SURPRISE that the two things sit together: il pleut, pourtant il sort. Cependant is neutral about it.	sin embargo Spanish does not grammaticalise the surprise — sin embargo covers pourtant and cependant alike.
so / then / in that case adverb	so The conversational opener, not the logical connective. 'So, shall we?'	alors Three jobs at once: consequence, time, and filler. Alors, on y va ? Donc is the strictly logical one and cannot open a sentence this way.	entonces The same three jobs, including the filler: entonces… ¿qué hacemos?
on the contrary adverb	on the contrary It CORRECTS rather than merely contrasts — it says the opposite of what was just claimed is true.	au contraire Stands alone as a complete rebuttal. Bien au contraire turns it up.	al contrario Todo lo contrario is the emphatic version.
since / as (given that) conjunction	since 'Since you're here.' It presents the reason as ALREADY KNOWN, where 'because' presents it as news. Also the time word, confusingly.	puisque Puisque gives a reason the listener already accepts; parce que gives new information. Answer the question pourquoi ? and it must be parce que — puisque there is wrong.	ya que Also puesto que and dado que, both heavier. Porque is the plain 'because'.
as soon as conjunction · time	as soon as English uses the PRESENT for a future event — 'as soon as I finish'. Almost nothing else on this list does.	dès que Takes the FUTURE where English takes the present: dès que j'aurai fini. Same for quand, lorsque and aussitôt que — French is logical about it and English is not.	en cuanto Takes the SUBJUNCTIVE for anything not yet real: en cuanto llegue, not llega.
unless conjunction	unless One word for 'if not'. Several languages here have no such word.	à moins que Subjunctive, and usually with the ne explétif: à moins qu'il ne vienne. That ne does NOT negate — it is a leftover, and dropping it is fine in speech.	a menos que Subjunctive, always. A no ser que is the other one.
whereas / while (contrast) conjunction	whereas Contrast, not time. English also uses 'while' for this, which is why 'while I was cooking' is ambiguous between the two.	tandis que Here French is MORE precise than English: pendant que is time only, tandis que is contrast. Alors que does the same contrastive job.	mientras que One word of difference: mientras alone is time, mientras QUE is contrast.
anyway / in any case adverb	anyway It closes a digression, or it dismisses an objection — two quite different jobs done by one word.	de toute façon Or de toute manière. To close a digression specifically: bref, or enfin bref.	de todos modos Also de todas formas. En fin closes the digression.