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“Sin embargo”, “por tanto”, “en cambio”

CEFR B2 · part 2

edumaterial's parts within the level. The European framework does not subdivide them.

The rule, in three lines

The words that hold an argument together, and what each one promises: sin embargo and en cambio announce a contrast, por tanto and así que a consequence, además an addition, de hecho a confirmation, and o sea a rewording.

The usual slip. Using pero for every contrast, and placing the connector where English would without the commas Spanish wants around it.

Why it catches you out. You have a wide stock of these in English and will look for one-to-one matches. Two of them do not have any: “en cambio” is not “in change” and “o sea” is not “or be”. And most of them take a comma on both sides in Spanish, where English often uses none.