In short

Connectives like そして (soshite, and), でも (demo, but) and だから (dakara, so) stand at the front of a new sentence, after the previous one has already ended in 。 They are not clause-joiners: to link two clauses inside one sentence you still use the て-form, から／ので or けど. Pick the right one by function (addition, contrast, result, transition) and by register - でも for speech, しかし for writing.

The rule

Step 1 - A connective opens a sentence; it never joins two clauses.

This is the one structural fact to get right. The previous sentence is finished and punctuated, then the connective starts a fresh one:

• 雨が降りました。でも、出かけました。 (Ame ga furimashita. Demo, dekakemashita.) It rained. But I went out.

The same relation expressed inside one sentence needs a different word - the clause-internal devices you already know from lesson 13 and lesson 21:

• 雨が降りましたが、出かけました。 - one sentence, joined by が.

So ×高いでも買いました is wrong: でも cannot sit between clauses. Either split into two sentences (高いです。でも、買いました。) or use が／けど (高いですが、買いました。).

One qualification, mostly for reading: そして and また do turn up after a 、 in written Japanese - 冬が去り、そして春が来ます。 (Fuyu ga sari, soshite haru ga kimasu.) Winter goes, and then spring comes. Even there the first clause is already complete in itself; the connective is never what makes the join, the way が or から is. What no connective in this lesson can do is attach straight to a predicate.

Step 2 - Put a 、 after it.

A sentence-initial connective is normally followed by the full-width comma 、 - だから、行きません。 The comma is not strictly obligatory for short ones (でも・また), but writing it is the safe default and matches how the connective is actually spoken: a small pause, then the sentence.

Step 3 - Learn them by function, in pairs.

• Addition and sequence. そして adds another event; それから puts it next in order (“and after that”); その後 is the more written “subsequently”; また adds a further point (“also, moreover”).
• Contrast. でも is the everyday spoken “but”; しかし is its neutral-to-written twin; けれども sits in between, a touch softer and more formal than でも.
• Cause and result. だから asserts the cause (“that’s why”); ですから is its polite version; それで reports a result low-key (“and so”); そのため is written-register.
• Inference and transition. じゃあ (casual) and では (polite) mean “well then, in that case” and typically open a decision or a closing move. それなら is “if that’s the case”.
• Topic shift. ところで parks the current topic and starts a new one: “by the way”.
• Exemplification and restatement. 例えば introduces an example; つまり restates what you just said more plainly (“in other words”).

Step 4 - Distinguish the four “and so” words.

そして claims only succession, それで claims a result, だから claims that the speaker draws the conclusion, and それから claims order in a list or timeline. Saying 雨が降りました。そして、試合が中止になりました。 sounds like two unrelated facts; the causal link needs それで or だから.

Step 5 - Match the register to the situation.

でも／だから／じゃあ belong to speech. しかし／そのため／では belong to writing and to formal speech. Mixing them jars: in a chatty conversation しかし sounds like a news broadcast, and in a written report でも sounds like a text message. Note also that だから aimed at a superior can read as impatient (“I told you”) - use ですから there.

The harder formal set - したがって, すなわち, 一方, なお, ただし, および - belongs to Written and formal register. Do not reach for them yet.

Forms & patterns

The core inventory, by function:

Same relation, two positions - inside one sentence vs across two:

The four “and so” words compared:

Notice that most of them are transparently それ／その + a particle or a noun: それから (from that), それで (with that), それなら (if that - なら is the conditional なら, shortened from ならば and traditionally analysed as the conditional of だ), その後 (after that), そのため (for that purpose - 後 and ため are nouns). They literally point back at the previous sentence.

Examples

Common mistakes

• この本は高いでも、買いました。 (Kono hon wa takai demo, kaimashita.) -> この本は高いですが、買いました。 (Kono hon wa takai desu ga, kaimashita.) - でも can only open a new sentence. To join two clauses inside one sentence use が or けど.
• 寒いから、だからコートを着ます。 (Samui kara, dakara kōto o kimasu.) -> 寒いから、コートを着ます。 (Samui kara, kōto o kimasu.) - から already marks the reason; adding だから states it twice.
• 雨が降りました。そして、試合が中止になりました。 (Ame ga furimashita. Soshite, shiai ga chūshi ni narimashita.) -> 雨が降りました。それで、試合が中止になりました。 (Ame ga furimashita. Sorede, shiai ga chūshi ni narimashita.) - そして is bare succession; a cause-to-result link needs それで or だから.
• 安いですよ。しかし、古いですよ。 (Yasui desu yo. Shikashi, furui desu yo.) -> 安いですよ。でも、古いですよ。 (Yasui desu yo. Demo, furui desu yo.) - しかし is written and formal register; in casual conversation it sounds like a news bulletin.
• だから、明日は休みます。 (Dakara, ashita wa yasumimasu.) -> ですから、明日は休みます。 (Desukara, ashita wa yasumimasu.) - to a superior or a customer, bare だから can land as curt or argumentative; ですから keeps it polite.

Tips

• English “so” splits in two. English uses “so” for both “and then” and “therefore”; Japanese does not. If you could replace it with “that’s why”, use だから／それで. If you could replace it with “and next”, use そして／それから.
• でも at the start of a sentence is “but”; でも after a noun is not. コーヒーでも飲みませんか。 (Kōhī demo nomimasen ka.) means Shall we have coffee or something? Same two kana, completely different job - check the position before you translate.
• Do not open every sentence with そして. Beginners overuse it because it maps onto English “and”. Natural Japanese chains events with the て-form inside one sentence and saves そして for a real new sentence.
• じゃあ／では is a signal that something is about to be decided or ended. Hearing では、これで終わります。 (Dewa, kore de owarimasu.) means the meeting is over. Treat it as “right then” rather than a literal “well”.