Unit 12: More uses of SE, future and conditional tenses
12.6 Meanings of sino
Sino is used after a negative to express “but” in the sense of “but rather” or “on the contrary.” It is used for contrast and is followed by que (not translated) before a conjugated verb.
Certain statements may employ either pero or sino, but the meaning shifts slightly from the simple “but” (no contrast implied) to “but rather”:
| No votaron, sino que discutieron el asunto. | They didn’t vote, but rather [they] discussed the matter. |
| No votaron, pero discutieron el asunto. | They didn’t vote, but they did discuss the matter. |
See these further examples:
| No fueron por autobús, sino por tren. | They didn’t go by bus, but rather by train. |
| Nélida no sigue siendo una mera empleada, sino que llegó a ser jefa de su departamento. | Nélida is no longer a mere employee, but rather became head of her department. |
| Varsovia es grande, pero, como otras ciudades grandes, tiene muchos problemas. | Warsaw is large, but, like other large cities, it has many problems. |
Sino must be translated with care, as it has two other meanings, the first of which is “but” in the sense of “except”:
| Nadie se ha enterado de eso sino ella. | No one has found out about that except her. |
When combined with no, its other common meaning is “only”:
| No tengo sino diez minutos para explicar la cuestión. | I only have ten minutes to explain the issue. |
Remember the expression no sólo… sino también:
| No sólo no me lo dijo ayer, sino también se negó a revelármelo hoy. | Not only did he not tell it to me yesterday, but also he refused to reveal it to me today. |
