Pero, sino and sino que all mean ‘but’ however they are used differently.
When to choose ‘pero’
We use pero in Spanish to create contrast between two statements. This contrast helps us to expand the information provided by the first statement.
Most of the time the first statement is a positive one. However, keep in mind that this is not always the case and sometimes the first statement can be negative:
Positive first statement:
| He likes playing football… Le gusta jugar al fútbol… | …but… …pero… | …he prefers basketball. …prefiere el baloncesto. |
Negative first statement:
| I cannot go out today… No puedo salir hoy… | …but… …pero… | …I will go out tomorrow. . …saldré mañana . |
A simple tip for choosing ‘pero’:
Sometimes it’s useful to ask yourself… If I replaced the ‘but’ in this sentence with ‘however’ would it make sense? If so, you are likely to need ‘pero‘.
For example:
- We eat fish on a Friday but/however we eat vegetables on a Saturday.
- Comemos el pescado los viernes pero/sin embargo comemos las verduras los sábados.
When to choose ‘sino’
Sino is used to correct what has been said in the first part of the sentence. In the first part of the sentence there is always a negative element and after sino we substitute that element for another.
| Joseph does not speak Spanish but French. José no habla español sino francés. |
| Tonight we are not going to the bowling alley but to the cinema. Esta noche no vamos a la bolera sino al cine. |
A simple tip for choosing ‘sino’:
Sometimes it’s useful to ask yourself… If I replaced the ‘but’ in this sentence with ‘but rather’ or ‘but instead’ would it make total sense?… Don’t force it to make sense! If it sounds totally natural, you need ‘sino‘.
For example:
- I am not looking for the black shoes but rather/but instead the brown shoes.
- No estoy buscando los zapatos negros sino los zapatos marrones.
So when do we need ‘sino que’?
You need sino que in the same instances as sino (when correcting what has been stated previously and saying ‘but rather/but instead’). However, you need to add the ‘que’ if we are changing the verb that comes after the ‘sino’.
Look at the following example with just ‘sino‘. The verb in the second part of the sentence is omitted because it is the same verb as in the first part so we do not need to mention it again:
| Today we are not going to the beach but instead ( Hoy no vamos a la playa sino ( |
Now take a look at this next sentence, which has a different verb in the second part of the sentence and therefore we cannot omit the verb. As a consequence, we must use sino que and add the new verb:
| Tonight you are not going out with your sister but rather you are staying here. Esta noche no sales con tu hermana sino que te quedas aquí. |
In conclusion
It really is that simple!
Use ‘pero‘ to add extra information and create contrast between what was said previously and the new information.
Say ‘sino‘ after a negative statement when you are correcting misinformation.
Opt for ‘sino que‘ after a negative statement, to correct misinformation when there is also a change in the verb used.
Over to you…
Let’s see if you can put this simple rule into practice by trying this interactive activity on pero VS sino (que).
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