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Con Junction

Con Junction

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How to say 'although', 'while' and 'neither…nor' in Spanish (aunque, mientras, ni…ni)

Concede a point, contrast two things, rule out both — smoothly, out loud.

GRAMMAR PACK · 6 LESSONS · B1

Aunque + indicative concedes a fact you know is true: aunque llueve, vamos a salir. After a negation, a correction takes sino, not pero: no es alemán, sino austriaco — pero is for plain contrast (es caro, pero vale la pena). Mientras alone means while, two things at once (escucho música mientras cocino); mientras que means whereas, a contrast (yo prefiero el té, mientras que ella prefiere el café). And ni…ni is neither…nor — keep the no when the verb comes first: no tengo ni tiempo ni dinero.

Below: the sentences each connector carries, the pero-for-sino slip that marks a learner, and a way to practise them out loud in a real back-and-forth — no drills, no fill-in-the-blanks.

Say this

The phrases that carry the conversation

aunque + indicative (concession with known facts)

  • Aunque llueve, vamos a salirEven though it's raining, we're going out
  • Aunque está cansado, sigue trabajandoAlthough he's tired, he keeps working
  • Aunque es caro, lo voy a comprarEven though it's expensive, I'm going to buy it
  • Aunque no tengo hambre, comeré algoAlthough I'm not hungry, I'll eat something

mientras (while, during a simultaneous action)

  • Escucho música mientras cocinoI listen to music while I cook
  • Mientras estudiaba, sonó el teléfonoWhile I was studying, the phone rang
  • Lee el periódico mientras desayunaHe reads the paper while he has breakfast
  • Mientras esperas, puedes sentarteWhile you wait, you can sit down

ni...ni (neither...nor)

  • No como ni carne ni pescadoI eat neither meat nor fish
  • Ni mi madre ni mi padre saben cocinarNeither my mother nor my father can cook
  • No tengo ni tiempo ni dineroI have neither time nor money
  • No me gusta ni el frío ni la lluviaI like neither cold nor rain

Regional Spanish

What locals actually say

Textbooks teach one word. Locals use several — pick your region's and stay consistent.

Watch out

Mistakes that mark you as a textbook speaker

  1. Using 'pero' after a negative where the correction is complete.'No es alemán, sino austriaco' (not 'pero austriaco').
  2. Forgetting y→e before i-/hi- and o→u before o-/ho-.'padre e hijo', 'siete u ocho'.
  3. Using 'mientras que' for simultaneous actions.'mientras' alone is simultaneous ('canto mientras cocino'); 'mientras que' = whereas (contrast).

The part no drill site can do

No flashcards. You learn it by using it

Carla, &Be grammar teacher

Carla

Your grammar teacher for this pack

Nothing here is a worksheet. In the Con Junction lessons you talk, and Carla — who enjoys nuance and gives you a friendly nudge every time you reach for pero where sino fits — keeps setting up the choice live: No quiero té, ___ café versus Me gusta el té, ___ prefiero el café — you pick and justify it out loud. Then she stretches you into no solo… sino también with a sentence about yourself, and into the three ways to give a reason — porque, ya que, como — until each one has its own feel.

Blank mid-sentence and nothing bad happens — she waits. That's the practice, without unnecessary judgement.

Finish the 6 lessons and Con Junction is yours — earned, not given.

Download on the App Store First 10 lessons free · 10-minute spoken lessons · your AI coaching team remembers you

Quick answers

Questions people ask

When do you use sino instead of pero?

After a negation, when you're replacing the wrong thing with the right one: no es alemán, sino austriaco; no quiero té, sino café. Pero just adds contrast: es caro, pero vale la pena.

What's the difference between mientras and mientras que?

Mientras alone = while, simultaneous: mientras estudiaba, sonó el teléfono. Mientras que = whereas, contrast: él es tímido, mientras que su hermano es muy abierto. In everyday Latin American speech, en cambio often replaces mientras que.

Why does 'y' change to 'e' in Spanish?

To avoid two identical vowel sounds: y → e before i-/hi- (padre e hijo, español e inglés), and o → u before o-/ho- (siete u ocho, mujer u hombre). The rule holds even in the most informal speech.

How do you say 'neither… nor' in Spanish?

Ni…ni. Keep no when the verb leads: no tengo ni tiempo ni dinero. Drop it when the subjects lead: ni mi madre ni mi padre saben cocinar.

Does aunque take the subjunctive?

For facts you know are true, it takes the indicative — that's what this badge trains: aunque es caro, lo voy a comprar. You'll also hear the subjunctive for hypotheticals in the wild — igual voy aunque llueva — where igual reinforces the concession.