Lesson Transcript

Hey there, friends of SpanishPod101.com
This day is a special day because we have a great lesson for you - three ways to say "but" in Spanish, with some exercises at the end. Right, Diego?
That's correct! So, enjoy the video!
Okay, guys, So, the word "but" in English, you use it all the time; However, in Spanish, we have three different words for conveying this simple word "but." We need to keep in mind that the word "but" in English can be sometimes substituted for the words "except," for "however," but also, "but rather." So, these three words are different in English, but you can use only the word "but" for conveying the three of them.
In Spanish, it is not possible. We need to break it down so you can have a much clearer idea on how to use it properly.
So, let's start with the first one, okay?
The first one is "pero," and it is the most common "but" you are going to find, and it is easy to master.
Okay, let's check an example: "I like pizza, but I don't like sushi."
Okay, when you use "pero," when the first statement doesn't contradict the second one or when the second one doesn't contradict the first one.
Okay, let's check this example in Spanish: "Me gusta la pizza, pero no me gusta el sushi." Good. Okay, still a bit confused? Let's break it down again.
The first example, "I like pizza, but I don't like sushi." If we break this sentence into two, and you can replace the "but" with "however" and start the second sentence, for example, "I like pizza, however, I don't like sushi." When you can replace the "but" with "however," then you should use pero.
Okay, let's check some examples in Spanish.
Tengo un coche, pero no lo manejo. "I have a car, but I don't drive it."
Okay, "I have dogs, but I don't have cats." Tengo perros, pero no tengo gatos."
Okay, so now you can replace the word pero with a much more formal way of saying it, and this word is: sin embargo. So, they are interchangeable, okay?
So for example, I can say:
Efraín, son las tres de la tarde, pero/sin emargo, no hace sol.
Okay, pretty easy.
Another one is:
Mi playera es azul, sin embargo, ya está deslavada.
It doesn't look blue anymore.
Okay, guys, now let's see another word for conveying "but," and this word is sino.
And learning sino is rather simple. Let's see why.
So, in the previous case with pero, we have two sentences. The first one and the second one. And the second one didn't really contradict the first one. But in sino, the second one is going to contradict the first part. Now, there's a catch here because the first sentence has to have the word no, and then you use sino. I would say that the best way for learning something is by making examples, so let's see one.
Efraín, no estamos en tu casa sino en la mía.
"Efraín, we are not at your house, but mine."
So, you see here, you're using the word in English "but," but in Spanish, you wouldn't be able to use pero, it doesn't make sense, so that's why you need to use "sino."
Now, a good way for remembering this is that if you can replace "but" with "but rather," you use sino.
"We are not at your house, but rather mine."
Okay, guys? So let's see one more example: No me gusta el calor, sino el frío.
"I don't like the heat, but rather the cold."
Good! Now, the second part of sino is that sino can also take a conjugated verb. But when you use a conjugated verb, you need to use sino que. Okay, you can use sino all by itself when you have a non-conjugated verb or an adjective or a noun.
For example: Efraín, a mí no me gusta caminar sino correr.
Or a noun, for example:
Yo no amo a los perros sino a los gatos.
Or also, an adjective:
A mí no me gustan las chicas morenas sino rubias.
So, if you're one, please add me. No, no, no!
Okay, okay. Now, the third one, the third one is you can use sino que plus the conjugated verb. So, for example:
Mis padres no se quedaron en casa sino que fueron al cine.
Okay, guys, so hopefully this is much clearer now. And now we have in English, one expression that is "not only, but also." And in this expression, you also use sino, okay?
So let's see how this works.
The structure in Spanish will be: No sólo (something), then sino tambien (something).
For example, "I not only like tortas, but also tamales and tacos.
No sólo me gustan las tortas, sino tambien los tamales y los tacos.
Okay, okay, now we have the next set of words: salvo / menos / excepto.
And you use these words when stating a contradiction to a general rule. Let's make it clear. You can use "but" and "except," sorry, "but" and "texcept" as synonyms, okay?
So when they are synonyms, then you can use salvo / menos / excepto.
Let's see an example: "Everyone but John left."
Now we have three ways to say this in Spanish:
Todos excepto Juan se fueon.
Todos salvo Juan se fueon.
Todos menos Juan se fueon.
Ok? And although they have different definitions, salvo / menos / excepto, they mean the same thing in Spanish. Okay, let's check another example with Diego.
Sure!
Yo trabajo todos los días excepto el domingo.
Although today is Sunday actually, it doesn't make sense.
Okay, so now, guys, let's do some exercises. So, these three ways for conveying the word "but" are much clearer to you, okay, guys? So, let's start.
Okay, guys, so the instructions for these exercises are rather simple. So we're going to say the sentence in English, and then we encourage you to pause the video and try to figure out how to say it in Spanish. Then, I will say the sentence in Spanish just to check if you got it correct. Okay, guys, just remember that you can use these sentences with pero, with sino, sino que, or with menos, salvo, or excepto.
So let's start! Ok, the first one.
"I have traveled to all the countries in America, but Canada."
He viajado a todos los países en América, excepto / salvo / menos Canadá.
Okay. "That's not yours, but rather mine."
Eso no es tuyo sino mío.
"He wants coffee, but he doesn't want sugar."
Él quiere café, pero no quiere azúcar.
"We didn't just drink tequila, but mezcal."
No sólo tomamos tequila, sino también mezcal.
"We are not Colombians, but Mexicans."
No somos colombianos, sino mexicanos.
Very good.
"Everyone went to the party, but Romina."
Todos fueron a la fiesta, excepto / salvo / menos Romina.
"I like everything about her, but her attitude."
Me gusta todo de ella, excepto / salvo / menos su actitud.
Okay, "I like every flavor, but vanilla."
Me gustan todos los sabores, excepto / salvo / menos la vainilla.
"I'm in the restaurant, but I don't see you."
Estoy en el restaurante, pero no te veo.
Okay, "everyone but Dave said yes."
Todos excepto / salvo / menos David dijeron que sí.
"I'm not angry, but rather sad."
No estoy enojado, sino triste.
That's it!
That's it for today, my friends of SpanishPodl101.com.
We hope that you have enjoyed this video. If so, please give it your thumbs up and share this video with other learners. And of course, guys, please leave us your comments, your opinions, your thoughts in the comment section right below.
And of course, see you in our next video, guys.
¡Hasta luego!

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