I am new to Spanish and was wondering when I need to use 'pero' in a sentence vs 'sino'.
I have seen both these words used in sentences and I am confused on when to use which.
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The confusion for English speakers can arise because "pero" and "sino" both translate to "but".
Él tiene una camisa, pero no es roja.
He has a shirt, but it's not red.No he venido a ser servido, sino a servir.
I haven't come to be served, but to serve.
Some differences:
"Sino" follows a negative assertion, to provide instead the "right" (positive) alternative. ("Not that, but this" . "No aquello, sino esto"). "Pero" just joins two sentences that are sowewhat opposite.
"Sino" can often be translated as instead or rather (where these words function as "but").
"Sino" is a more connected conjuntion: the words that follow complete the sentence, it's syntactically related and it's contruction depends on the opening. By contrast, "Pero" opens a new independent clause. See the above examples. Quick rule: only before a "pero" we can replace the comma by a semicolon or a period ("Él tiene una camisa. Pero no es roja.").
leonbloy
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So would "I haven't come to be served, but I have come to serve" use pero or sino? It doesn't fit your rule that the second clause is independent, but it fits the other rules. – Flimzy Jul 02 '13 at 23:12
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I don't see it that way. The correct/natural form is "I haven't come to be served, but to serve". In any case, the second part, what follows the "but", mimics syntantically the first (just toggling the negative to a positive), it's not an independent construct. – leonbloy Jul 02 '13 at 23:59
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I wonder if you didn't understand my question. Sometimes, for stylistic reasons or emphasis, for example, someone would repeat the entire phrase. I'm asking if sino would still be appropriate then? Another English example might be, "I don't like cats, but I do like dogs." Is sino still appropriate, or would pero be used, since there is an independent clause? – Flimzy Jul 03 '13 at 00:11
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1@Flimzy: If the clause is independent, "pero" is the correct one; "No me gustan los gatos; pero me gustan los perros". – leonbloy Jul 03 '13 at 00:19
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Sino is a conjunction, and is used exactly the same as pero, except that it is used in cases of negation. It can be thought to roughly translate to the English terms however or rather, but is more specific than the English terms.
To use sino, there must be a negative word (such as no) preceding the conjunction
Examples:
I don't want to go to the movies, rather/however/but I want to go home.
No quiero ir al cine, sino quiero ir a mi casa.
The dog is not brown, but/however/rather black.
El perro no es marrón, sino negro.
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@slayernoah: No problem, and we're glad you're here! Welcome to Spanish.SE. – Flimzy Jul 03 '13 at 19:20
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The word "pero" is used to expand or oppose a concept.
For example:
Puedes dormir tarde "pero" el otro dia tendrás sueño.
El puede venir "pero" debe traer algo.
In case of word "sino", is used to oppose a concept to another previous negative.
For Example:
No es que no quiera que venga "sino" que venga otro día.
No lo hizo ella "sino" que lo hizo el.
Well, I hope this help you.
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Sino is an elegant way to provide a non-obvious alternative to a negative statement, without having to start a new sentence.
To avoid confusing it with pero, try replacing it with although–if it works, it's pero; otherwise, it's sino.
— Me apetecía verte hoy, pero hasta mañana no puedo.
"I felt like seeing you today, (but/although) until tomorrow, I can't."
— Pues yo no contaba con verte hoy, sino mañana, así que perfecto.
"(Well) I wasn't counting on seeing you today, (but/I was counting on seeing you) tomorrow, so that's perfect."
Él tiene una camisa pero no es roja.
No son minutos, sino horas.
– slayernoah Jul 01 '13 at 22:37