Discourse Connectors & Cohesion

Every earlier chapter in this book has been about building one correct sentence: getting a verb ending right, choosing the right pronoun, picking por over para. This chapter is about something that sits one level up — how one sentence hands off to the next. A well-formed paragraph, in Spanish just as in English, needs small signal words that tell the reader or listener how a new sentence relates to what came before: is it a contradiction, a result, an extra point, a restatement, the next event in a story? These signal words — sin embargo, por lo tanto, es decir, and their relatives — are discourse connectors. Unlike the conjunctions from Chapter 51 and Chapter 52, they don’t fuse two clauses into one grammatical sentence; they link two separate, complete sentences (or two independent ideas within a longer stretch of speech or writing) together. This small set of words is what makes writing and speech feel joined-up rather than choppy — which is exactly why it keeps mattering well past the beginner stage, showing up constantly in essays, news articles, and any conversation more considered than a quick exchange.

Core Pattern: How a Connector Links Two Sentences

The mechanics: two sentences, not one

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A discourse connector typically opens the second sentence, followed by a comma, or sits embedded mid-sentence set off by commas on both sides. Either way, the two halves stay two separate sentences — each with its own subject and conjugated verb, each capable of standing alone — with the connector doing the work of showing how they relate:

“

No me apetece salir. Sin embargo, voy a ir porque se lo prometí a Marta.

I don't feel like going out. However, I'm going to go because I promised Marta.

That contrast with Chapter 51’s pero is worth sitting with: pero builds one sentence out of two equal pieces, while sin embargo links two sentences that could each be printed with their own period. It’s the same underlying idea of “connecting” applied at two different grammatical altitudes.

Contrast: sin embargo and en cambio

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Sin embargo (“however”) sets up a contradiction — what follows goes against an expectation the first sentence created:

“

Quiero comprarme un piso en el centro. Sin embargo, los precios están por las nubes.

I want to buy an apartment downtown. However, prices are through the roof.

En cambio (“on the other hand,” “whereas”) is a gentler cousin: it sets two facts side by side for comparison rather than contradicting an expectation, and it reads naturally embedded mid-sentence as well as sentence-initial:

“

A mí me encanta el pescado; a mi hermana, en cambio, le da asco.

I love fish; my sister, on the other hand, finds it disgusting.

Building Out: Consequence, Addition & Clarification

The same basic move — linking two sentences by naming their relationship — extends to logical relationships well beyond contrast. Three more families cover most of the rest of what a connected paragraph needs.

Consequence: por lo tanto and its everyday cousins

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Por lo tanto (“therefore,” “consequently”) states that the second sentence is a direct result of the first — a neutral-to-formal, extremely common connector in both writing and speech:

“

No estudié nada para el examen. Por lo tanto, suspendí.

I didn't study at all for the exam. Therefore, I failed.

The same relationship has cousins at other registers. Por eso is the everyday, neutral version:

“

Llovía muchísimo. Por eso no salimos de casa.

It was pouring rain. That's why we didn't leave the house.

Por consiguiente and en consecuencia sit at the formal, written end, often paired with a semicolon rather than a period:

“

El gobierno subió los impuestos; en consecuencia, el consumo se redujo.

The government raised taxes; as a result, consumption fell.

Addition: además and its family

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Además (“furthermore,” “besides,” “also”) adds a supporting or escalating point — stronger rhetorically than a plain y, which just adds items without signaling that the new point strengthens an argument:

“

El piso es luminoso y está bien comunicado. Además, el precio es razonable.

The apartment is bright and well-connected. Furthermore, the price is reasonable.

Es más escalates even harder (“what’s more”), encima is its colloquial, often complaint-flavored cousin (“on top of that”), and asimismo is the formal, written register’s version (“likewise”):

“

No llegó a tiempo, y encima se olvidó las llaves.

He didn't arrive on time, and on top of that, he forgot the keys.

Clarification: es decir and de hecho

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Es decir (“that is to say,” “in other words”) restates or sharpens what was just said:

“

Voy a trabajar desde casa, es decir, no hace falta que me esperéis en la oficina.

I'm going to work from home — that is, you don't need to wait for me at the office.

De hecho (“in fact,” “actually”) does two related jobs: reinforcing a claim as even truer than it first sounded, or introducing a mild correction — a fact that turns out to be a little different, or more surprising, than expected:

“

Me encantó la película. De hecho, la vi dos veces.

I loved the movie. In fact, I watched it twice.

“

Pensaba que el examen sería fácil. De hecho, fue bastante complicado.

I thought the exam would be easy. Actually, it was quite complicated.

Nuance, Exceptions & Contrast: Narrative Sequencing & Register

A fifth job: stitching narrated events together

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Everything so far has connected ideas by logical relationship. Connectors do the same linking job for narrated time — the words that make clear what happened, and in what order, independent of tense choice. Chapter 32 covers the tense backbone of a narrative (preterite, imperfect, pluperfect layered together); this family is the lexical glue that rides alongside that backbone:

“

Puse la mesa. Mientras tanto, mi madre terminaba de cocinar.

I set the table. Meanwhile, my mother was finishing cooking.

“

Todo estaba tranquilo. De repente, se apagaron las luces.

Everything was calm. Suddenly, the lights went out.

“

Llegamos tarde; entonces, decidimos coger un taxi.

We arrived late; so, we decided to grab a taxi.

“

Terminé de trabajar y luego fui al gimnasio. Después, me duché y cené.

I finished work and then went to the gym. Afterward, I showered and had dinner.

“

Discutimos durante horas sobre adónde ir. Al final, decidimos quedarnos en casa.

We argued for hours about where to go. In the end, we decided to stay home.

Choosing the right register

B2

Look back across the families above and a pattern emerges: every one of them has a colloquial end (por eso, así que, encima) and a formal end (por consiguiente, en consecuencia, asimismo, no obstante), with a neutral middle (por lo tanto, además, sin embargo) that works almost everywhere. Match the connector’s register to the rest of your sentence — mixing así que into otherwise formal academic prose reads as jarring in the same way a stray slang word would in English. The full system behind register choice generally — not just for connectors — is Chapter 55, Formality & Register’s job; this is one specific, common application of it.

Punctuation: why a comma alone can’t do the job

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Because a discourse connector doesn’t fuse two clauses the way a conjunction does, joining them with only a comma creates a comma splice — a genuine error, not a stylistic choice:

Bringing It Together

Faced with two ideas you want to connect, ask what relationship the second one has to the first. A contradiction points you to sin embargo or en cambio; a direct result points to por lo tanto (or one of its register-matched cousins); an extra, supporting point points to además; a restatement or sharper truth points to es decir or de hecho; and the next moment in a story points to the narrative-sequencing family.

“

Mi hermano quería aprender a tocar la guitarra este año. Sin embargo, no tenía tiempo para practicar entre semana. Por lo tanto, se apuntó a clases los sábados por la mañana. Al principio le costó mucho. No obstante, después de unos meses, tocaba canciones enteras. Al final, decidió organizar un pequeño concierto para sus amigos.

My brother wanted to learn guitar this year. However, he didn't have time to practice during the week. Therefore, he signed up for classes on Saturday mornings. At first it was hard for him. Nevertheless, after a few months, he was playing whole songs. In the end, he decided to put on a small concert for his friends.

Where to Go Next

• Chapter 51, Coordinating Conjunctions — the sister system for building one sentence out of two equal pieces, the structural contrast this whole chapter is built against.
• Chapter 52, Subordinating Conjunctions & Adverbial Clauses — including mientras as a subordinator, the single-sentence twin of this chapter’s mientras tanto.
• Chapter 48, Por vs. Para — where por lo tanto was first previewed as a fixed expression before earning its full treatment here.
• Chapter 32, Narrating in the Past — the tense-layering backbone this chapter’s narrative-sequencing family works alongside, not instead of.
• Chapter 55, Formality & Register — the general register system behind the colloquial-to-formal range running through every connector family in this chapter.
• Chapter 57, Hedging, Emphasis & Pragmatic Particles — the more conversational, attitude-carrying cousins of these connectors, including o sea and bueno, and the softer end of Spanish cohesion generally.