Severn Spanish

Pero vs. sino III

 

Introduction

Sometimes in Spanish there are two words to say what we use one for in English: saber/conocer, ser/estar, por/para, etc. Here is one more: pero vs. sino.

 

Usages

You’ve probably seen pero quite a bit, and you know that it means “but.” There is, however, another way to say “but”: sino. The two are used in difference circumstances and mean slightly different things. We’ll start with sino, since it has a narrower meaning than pero does.

 

Sino

Sino involves what is called negation and correction, or, more simply, it means, “but rather” or “but instead.” If you are saying no to one thing and then yes to something else — “I don’t like pork, but chicken” — that’s when sino comes into play. A good rule of thumb is to see if you can stick a “rather” in after the “but” — “I don’t like pork, but rather chicken” still makes sense. On the other hand, “I am tired, but rather I will still make dinner” makes no sense. In that sentence, you would use pero.

Examples:

No quiero los tacos, sino las enchiladas. (I don’t want the tacos, but [rather] the enchiladas.)

No hablo portugués, sino español. (I don’t speak Portuguese, but [rather] Spanish.)

 

It is also used in the phrase “not only… but also,” which goes, no solo… sino también.

Example:

Ella no solo ayuda en casa, sino también en la escuela. (She doesn't only help at home, but also at school.)

 

A final note: if the part of the sentence that follows sino has a conjugated verb, you need to use sino que.

Examples:

No estudié, sino que fui a la fiesta. (I didn’t study, but [rather] went to the party.)

 

Pero

Now that you have been introduced to sino, we can go back to pero with a clearer understanding of what it means. Basically, you use pero in any situation that doesn’t require sino. Thus, if you are saying something that doesn’t involve a correction, you should be fine to use pero.

Examples:

Estudié mucho, pero recibí una C. (I studied a lot, but I received a C.)

Me gusta bailar, pero hoy estoy muy cansada. (I like to dance, but today I am very tired.)

Quick reference:

Next topics: