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Native Spanish audio system spend their entire lives studying, writing, talking and listening to Spanish, but there are nonetheless points of the language they’ve hassle with.
Take sino and si no—you might need assumed that they might be used interchangeably, which sadly isn’t the case.
This put up will demystify these two deceptively related phrases. By the tip of it, chances are you’ll even be capable to clarify the distinction to a local Spanish speaker!
Contents
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Si No vs. Sino (and El Sino): Mastering the Fundamentals
The phrases si no and sino are quick and simple to recollect. However when it’s important to use them, issues can get somewhat tough.
Earlier than we get into our in-depth explanations, let’s briefly introduce every phrase:
Si no
Si no means “if not.” It introduces a adverse conditional, and it’s at all times written as two separate phrases:
Si no llueve, iremos a la playa.
(If it doesn’t rain, we’ll go to the seashore.)
No habríamos llegado tarde si no te hubieras quedado dormido.
(We wouldn’t have been late in the event you hadn’t overslept.)
Sino
Sino is an adversative conjunction, and it means “however.” It’s at all times a single phrase, and it’ll at all times observe a adverse assertion:
No quiero el sombrero negro, sino el rojo.
(I don’t need the black hat, however the crimson one.)
No son siete, sino ocho.
(They’re not [a group of] seven, however [of] eight.)
El sino
And, as a result of we’re feeling beneficiant in the present day, we’ll throw in a 3rd time period: el sino.
That’s proper: sino also can perform as a noun. El sino interprets to “destiny” or “future.”
No es mi sino ser rico.
(It’s not my destiny to be wealthy.)
¡Period nuestro sino!
(It was our future!)
Fairly straightforward to date, proper? Contemplate this your primary primer to si no and sino. If you wish to faucet out now, that’s effective. However there’s extra you need to find out about these phrases in the event you actually wish to use them accurately.
If you wish to take a deep dive into si no and sino, just like the grammar ninja you realize you might be, learn on.
Si No: Translation and Right Utilization
Use si no to imply “if not”
As talked about above, si no introduces a adverse conditional and it interprets to “if not.”
Similar to the optimistic conditional si
, it could seem in all forms of conditional sentences, and it could both start the entire sentence or begin the second phrase. Take a look:
Si no lo veo, no lo creo.
(If I don’t see it, I don’t consider it.)
No lo compraré si no tengo dinero.
(I gained’t purchase it if I don’t have cash.)
Si no fueras tan mentiroso, seríamos amigos.
(Should you weren’t such a liar, we’d be buddies.)
Habrían podido ir de vacaciones si María no hubiera tenido que trabajar.
(They’d’ve been capable of go on vacation if María hadn’t needed to work.)
Discover how sentences beginning with si no have a comma (identical to in English with “if not”), whereas sentences the place si no is within the second half of it don’t.
Separating si and no
Additionally, be careful for sentences just like the fourth one, the place the topic after si isn’t omitted. In these circumstances, si no will get separated, and the topic is inserted between them:
Si tú no lo quieres, dámelo.
(Should you don’t need it, give it to me.)
No iremos a la playa si Franco no hace sus deberes.
(We gained’t go to the seashore if Franco doesn’t do his homework.)
Si Juan no estuviera tan cansado, iríamos al cine.
(If Juan weren’t so drained, we’d go to the cinema.)
Habrían pedido otro café si el niño no se hubiera puesto a llorar.
(They’d’ve ordered one other espresso if the child hadn’t began to cry.)
Saying “and if not…” and “or else…”
Lastly, si no will also be used identical to the English phrase “if not,” with none verb hooked up. In these circumstances, each “if not” and si no are typically preceded by a comma or a interval and adopted by a comma:
Asegúrate de que has cerrado la puerta, y si no, ciérrala.
(Ensure you’ve closed the door, and if not, shut it.)
Nonetheless, you may repeat the verb after si no or “if not” if you want:
Si hace calor, iremos a la playa, y si no, iremos al cine.
(If it’s scorching, we’ll go to the seashore, and if not, we’ll go to the cinema.)
Si hace calor, iremos a la playa, y si no, al cine.
(If it’s scorching, we’ll go to the seashore, and if not, [we’ll go] to the cinema.)
Alternatively, you should utilize o si no to imply “or else.” Similar to y si no, this phrase ought to be preceded and adopted by a comma or a interval:
Tengo que terminar mi tarea, o si no, no podré ir a la fiesta.
(I’ve to complete my homework, or else I gained’t be capable to go to the get together.)
With me to date? Nice! Should you want somewhat further assessment, my suggestion is to take a look at some songs that characteristic si no. Lyrics may be an effective way to recollect and internalize Spanish grammar. On this case, you may begin with the favored track “Si no te quisiera” (“If I Didn’t Love You”) by Juan Magán.
Sino: Translation and Right Utilization
Use sino to imply “however relatively, however as an alternative”
Sino is an adversative conjunction that’s used as a way to distinction two issues.
Despite the fact that it incorporates the identical letters as si no and in the very same order, it’s truly a single phrase, and it ought to at all times be written as such.
Most Spanish grammar books and lecturers translate it as “however,” however this isn’t the perfect translation. Why not?
Primarily as a result of we now have one other phrase for “however” ( pero
), and in the event you’re like a few of my college students, you’ll assume sino and pero are interchangeable. This can result in a ton of errors.
That’s why I want to translate sino as “however relatively” or “however as an alternative.”
The distinction between sino and pero
Let’s take a look at sino first earlier than explaining how you can distinguish it from pero:
No he comprado el vestido verde, sino el rojo.
(I haven’t purchased the inexperienced gown, however the crimson one [instead].)
No ha ido Juan, sino Pedro.
(It wasn’t Juan who went, however Pedro [instead].)
No queremos café, sino té.
(We don’t need espresso, however tea [instead].)
I’ve added the phrase “as an alternative” so that you simply see what I imply once I say I wish to translate sino as “however relatively/however as an alternative.” You solely use “however” in English in these sentences, however in Spanish it’s important to know how you can distinguish sino from pero.
Take a look at some sentences with pero in Spanish to get a way of the distinction:
Estaba lloviendo, pero fuimos a la playa.
(It was raining, however we went to the seashore.)
Tenía hambre, pero no había comida.
(I used to be hungry, however there was no meals.)
No hacía frío, pero cerré la ventana.
(It wasn’t chilly, however I closed the window.)
Deciding when to make use of sino and when to make use of pero
How will you study when to make use of sino versus pero, then?
I at all times use two little tips with my college students. The primary one is substitution.
We will substitute sino and pero for different phrases and see if the sentence nonetheless is smart in English.
Pero signifies an exception more often than not. One thing occurs, however there’s an exception to the rule, or we do one thing regardless of the world telling us to do in any other case. Due to this, we are able to substitute pero with “besides,” “regardless that,” “nonetheless” or “regardless of.” For instance:
No me gusta el pescado, pero amo comer carne.
(I don’t like fish, however I really like consuming meat — I don’t like fish. Nonetheless, I really like consuming meat.)
Los quiero todos, pero no quiero el negro.
(I need all of them, however I don’t need the black one — I need all of them besides the black one.)
Hacía frío, pero fuimos a la playa.
(It was chilly, however we went to the seashore — It was chilly. Regardless of that, we went to the seashore.)
Alternatively, sino doesn’t imply an exception, however relatively, a choice. You don’t need A, however you need B as an alternative. You don’t like A, however you want B as an alternative. It’s at all times a matter of decisions and preferences, which is why we are able to substitute sino with “relatively” or “as an alternative”:
No compramos la casa grande, sino la pequeña.
(We didn’t purchase the large home, however the small one — We didn’t purchase the large home. We purchased the small one as an alternative.)
No tenía hambre, sino sed.
(I wasn’t hungry, however thirsty — I wasn’t hungry, relatively thirsty.)
The second trick I take advantage of is maybe even simpler: Take out the phrase sino or pero, and substitute it for a interval. If the sentences you get are each grammatically right and full, the phrase you want is pero. Should you get an entire sentence and an incomplete one, you want sino:
Tengo hambre. No hay comida.
(I’m hungry. There is no such thing as a meals.)
Each are full sentences, to allow them to be joined by pero:
Tengo hambre, pero no hay comida.
(I’m hungry however there isn’t a meals.)
Nonetheless:
No quiero el pollo. La sopa.
(I don’t need the hen. The soup.)
Right here we now have an entire sentence (I don’t need the hen) and a noun phrase (the soup). This means that we now have to make use of sino:
No quiero el pollo, sino la sopa.
(I don’t need the hen, however the soup.)
Should you’re nonetheless not fully clear on when to make use of sino and pero, there are tons of web assets that will help you out. You possibly can follow with this quiz hosted by Woodward Spanish, or this one out there via Quia.
El Sino: Translation and Right Utilization
El sino is definitely the best phrase of the three.
It’s the one noun amongst them, so it really works in a very totally different means.
Moreover, because it means “destiny” or “future,” it could simply be substituted for an additional noun, like destino
(future):
Es nuestro sino.
(It’s our destiny.)
Es nuestro destino.
(It’s our future.)
No period su sino ser millonario.
(It wasn’t his destiny to be a millionaire.)
No period su destino ser millonario.
(It wasn’t his future to be a millionaire.)
It’s value noting that this use of sino isn’t frequent in on a regular basis Spanish, so that you’ll principally discover it in literature and poetry today, however understanding this superior that means will certainly impress your Spanish-speaking buddies!
Practising Sino vs Si No: 2 Useful Methods
Apply via immersion
As with most points of the Spanish language, one of many simplest methods to study is thru immersion—in spite of everything, that’s the way in which we realized our native language!
Touring or dwelling overseas are the obvious issues that come to thoughts when imagining immersion, as every single day is a language lesson. Whereas this bodily immersion is nice, you may also create an immersive setting from the consolation of your personal dwelling, due to the web.
The World Large Net is brimming with assets that may present you ways si no, sino and different points of the language are literally utilized by native audio system in on a regular basis contexts.
The important thing right here is to discover genuine content material that native Spanish audio system additionally devour. A fast Google search will discover you loads of Spanish podcasts to hearken to and attention-grabbing books to learn!
As for visually partaking native content material, the streaming platform Netflix is nice for well-liked Spanish TV reveals and motion pictures, whereas the video-based program FluentU focuses on language studying via genuine media clips like music movies and provoking talks. The contextual video dictionary on this language studying platform can be utilized to seek for the phrases sino and si no and discover movies the place they’re utilized in context by native audio system.
Apply via grammar workouts
It’s also possible to assessment the distinction between sino and si no via grammar drills. These will not be as enjoyable as immersive studying, however they’re positively efficient!
Sit down and write a couple of sentences every containing sino and si no. After you’re carried out, you may run them by a instructor or language change associate to see in the event you’ve gotten them proper.
As a bonus, right here’s a fast grammar drill to get you began. All it’s important to do is select between si no and sino and fill within the blanks. You’ll be amazed at how a lot you’ve realized whereas studying this put up!
No quiero el coche, _______ la moto. (I don’t need the automotive, however the bike.)
No iremos al parque _______ terminas tus tamales. (We gained’t go to the park in the event you don’t end your tamales.)
No es nuestro _______ convertirnos en estrellas de cine. (It’s not our destiny to grow to be film stars.)
You will discover the right solutions on the finish of the put up.
See? That wasn’t troublesome in any respect!
Should you keep in mind the distinction between a conditional, a conjunction and a noun, you gained’t have any drawback with these phrases.
Moreover, in the event you keep in mind how you can use them accurately, you’ll be one step forward of many native Spanish audio system.
Keep curious, and as at all times, joyful studying!
(Options to the above fill-in-the-blank sentences, so as: sino, si no, sino. How did you do?)
Obtain:
This weblog put up is on the market as a handy and transportable PDF that you simply
can take anyplace.
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