Key Idea: This topic is about joining your Spanish into a real text: connectors to link ideas, the right register for your reader, and phrases to give opinions.
| Job | Connectors |
|---|---|
| Adding | {{además, también|furthermore, also}} |
| Contrast | {{sin embargo, aunque|however, although}} |
| Cause | {{porque, ya que|because, since}} |
| Consequence | {{por eso, por lo tanto|so, therefore}} |
| Order | {{primero, luego, finalmente|first, then, finally}} |
| Example | {{por ejemplo|for example}} |
tú (informal): Friends, people your age, family. Verb: {{¿Puedes?|Can you?}}. {{tu, te|your, you}}. Plural: vosotros (Spain).
usted (formal): Strangers, older people, authority, business. Verb in the él/ella form: {{¿Puede?|Can you?}}. {{su, le|your, you}}. Plural: ustedes (formal, and all of Latin America).
Giving opinions
- State it: {{creo que, me parece que, desde mi punto de vista|I think that, it seems to me that, from my point of view}}, followed by the indicative.
- Justify it every time with a reason and an example.
- Respond: {{estoy de acuerdo / no estoy de acuerdo|I agree / I disagree}}
- After {{no creo que|I don't think that}}, use the subjunctive: {{no creo que sea…|I don't think it is…}}
Use two or three different connectors in each paragraph, not «y» every time.
Can a sentence start with «Porque…» on its own? No. Join it to the idea it explains.
You start a letter with usted. Can you write «tu» later? No. Change verb, possessive and pronoun together, and keep usted to the end.
In Mexico, how do you say «you all» to friends? «Ustedes». Latin America uses it for everyone.
«Soy de acuerdo» or «estoy de acuerdo»? «Estoy de acuerdo».
Which connector shows a result? «Por eso» or «por lo tanto».