Conjunctions and connectives
A2 Le congiunzioni e i connettivi 15 / 53
In short
The moment you want a second clause, you need glue: e (and), ma (but), o (or), perché (because), quindi (so), se (if), quando (when). All of them take the indicative - the verb form you already know - and none of them changes the word order of the clause that follows. Learn the ten or so words on this page and you can join any two sentences you can already say.
The rule
Step 1 - The three that just link: e, ma, o. They sit between the two clauses and change nothing inside them.
- Studio l’italiano e lavoro a Milano. (addition)
- Vorrei uscire ma piove. (contrast)
- Prendi il treno o vai in macchina? (alternative)
Two small notes. e becomes ed before a word starting with e- (ed ecco, ed era tardi); before other vowels ed is optional and nowadays rare, so e Anna is perfectly good. And o… o doubled means either… or: O vieni o resti.
Step 2 - perché does two jobs. It asks why and it answers because - same word, same accent on the é, always the indicative after it.
- Perché non mangi? - Perché non ho fame. - Why aren’t you eating? - Because I’m not hungry.
Step 3 - Cause first or result first: choose the connective accordingly. This is the one real decision in the lesson. The same two facts can be packed two ways, and each way has its own word:
cause AFTER the result -> perché: Non esco perché sono stanco. cause BEFORE the result -> siccome: Siccome sono stanco, non esco. result AFTER the cause -> quindi / perciò / allora: Sono stanco, quindi non esco.
siccome can only open the sentence - it never comes second. quindi, perciò and allora are the mirror image: they introduce the consequence, so they can never open the whole pair. infatti is different again: it does not add a cause, it confirms what you have just said - Era stanco, infatti è andato a letto presto.
Step 4 - Contrast: ma, però, invece. ma and però both mean but, and they are interchangeable in meaning - the difference is placement. ma must open its clause and stay there. però is mobile: it can open the clause, sit inside it, or land at the end.
- Vorrei venire ma non posso.
- Vorrei venire, però non posso. / Vorrei venire, non posso però.
invece means instead / on the other hand, and it marks a swap between two subjects or two facts: Io prendo un caffè, Anna invece prende un tè.
Step 5 - anche goes BEFORE the word it adds. English hangs too at the end of the sentence; Italian puts anche immediately in front of whatever is being added, and moving it moves the meaning:
- Anche Marco studia l’italiano. - Marco too (as well as other people).
- Marco studia anche l’italiano. - Italian too (as well as other subjects).
With a pronoun the fixed everyday shape is anch’io, anche tu, anche lui/lei, anche noi. Anch’io is the only one that elides.
Step 6 - Time and condition: quando, mentre, poi, se. All indicative.
quando = when; mentre = while (two things at once, and also whereas); poi = then, next, for sequencing; se = if for a real condition, and also whether after verbs like non so, chiedere, dipende.
- Quando arrivo, ti chiamo. - Mentre cucino, ascolto la radio. - Prima mangiamo, poi usciamo. - Se piove, restiamo a casa. - Non so se viene.
Step 7 - Nothing here takes the subjunctive. Every connective on this page governs the plain indicative. The set that forces the subjunctive - benché, purché, prima che - is a separate, much later job (step 47). One useful pair to notice now: anche se (even if / even though) belongs to this group and takes the indicative - Esco anche se piove.
Forms & patterns
The working set, by job:
| Job | Connective | English | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| add | e (ed) | and | ed before e- |
| add | anche | also, too | goes before the added word |
| alternative | o (o… o) | or (either… or) | |
| contrast | ma | but | opens its clause only |
| contrast | però | but, however | mobile |
| contrast | invece | instead, on the other hand | swaps two facts |
| cause | perché | because | cause comes second |
| cause | siccome | since, as | cause comes first, opens the sentence |
| consequence | quindi, perciò, allora | so, therefore | result comes second |
| confirmation | infatti | indeed, in fact | confirms, never contradicts |
| time | quando, mentre, poi | when, while, then | |
| condition | se | if, whether |
Cause and consequence - the same idea, three builds:
| Order | Pattern | Example |
|---|---|---|
| result -> cause | … perché + cause | Non esco perché sono stanco. |
| cause -> result | Siccome + cause, result | Siccome sono stanco, non esco. |
| cause -> result | cause, quindi + result | Sono stanco, quindi non esco. |
Placement of the two but-words:
| Position | ma | però |
|---|---|---|
| opening the clause | Vorrei, ma non posso. | Vorrei, però non posso. |
| inside the clause | not possible | Vorrei venire, oggi però non posso. |
| at the end | not possible | Vorrei venire, non posso però. |
Examples
- Studio l’italiano e mi piace molto. - I study Italian and I like it a lot.
- Vorrei uscire, ma sono troppo stanco. - I’d like to go out, but I’m too tired.
- Prendiamo il treno o andiamo in macchina? - Shall we take the train or go by car?
- Non vengo alla festa perché domani lavoro. - I’m not coming to the party because I’m working tomorrow.
- Siccome non ho la macchina, prendo l’autobus. - Since I don’t have a car, I take the bus.
- Ho perso il treno, quindi sono arrivato tardi. - I missed the train, so I arrived late.
- Marco beve il caffè, io invece preferisco il tè. - Marco drinks coffee, I prefer tea though.
- Anche mia sorella abita a Roma. - My sister lives in Rome too.
- Mentre studiavo, mia madre cucinava. - While I was studying, my mother was cooking.
- Se hai tempo, ci vediamo domani. - If you have time, we’ll see each other tomorrow.
Common mistakes
- Io anche. -> Anch’io. - anche always comes in front of what it adds, never after it; the fixed answer form is anch’io.
- Ma però non posso. -> Ma non posso. / Però non posso. - ma and però mean the same thing, so stacking them is a double but. Pick one.
- Non esco siccome sono stanco. -> Non esco perché sono stanco. / Siccome sono stanco, non esco. - siccome can only open the sentence; when the cause follows, the word is perché.
- Non so che viene. -> Non so se viene. - after non so, chiedere, dipende, English whether/if is se, never che.
- Non vengo perchè piove. -> Non vengo perché piove. - the accent leans the other way: perché, poiché, affinché all end in -ché with an acute accent.
Tips
- perché is two words in one: it opens the question and it opens the answer. If you learn nothing else here, learn that Perché…? - Perché… is a complete, natural exchange.
- Cause vs consequence is just a question of which fact you say first. perché points backwards to the cause, quindi points forwards to the result. If you can’t remember siccome, you never need it: perché covers the same ground with the clauses swapped.
- però is the flexible one, ma is the rigid one. When you have already started the clause and only then remember the contrast, però can still be dropped in - ma cannot.
- infatti is a false friend. It confirms (“indeed, and that’s why”); it does not correct. English actually in the sense of “no, in fact the opposite” is in realtà or anzi.