Some other common conjunctions - Easy Learning Grammar Italian
- The following conjunctions are used a lot in colloquial Italian:
- allora so, right then
| Allora, cosa pensi? | So, what do you think? |
| Allora, cosa facciamo stasera? | Right then, what shall we do this evening? |
- dunque so, well
| Ha sbagliato lui, dunque è giusto che paghi. | It was his mistake, so it’s right he should pay. |
| Dunque, come dicevo… | Well, as I was saying… |
- quindi so
| L’ho già visto, quindi non vado. | I’ve already seen it, so I’m not going. |
- però but, however, though
| Mi piace, però è troppo caro. | I like it – but it’s too expensive. |
| Non è l’ideale, però può andare. | It’s not ideal, however it’ll do. |
| Sì, lo so – strano però. | Yes, I know – it’s odd though. |
- invece actually
| Ero un po’ pessimista, ma invece è andato tutto bene. | I wasn’t too hopeful, but actually it all went fine. |
Tipinvece is often used for emphasis in Italian – it isn’t always translated in English.
| Ho pensato che fosse lui, ma invece no. | I thought it was him but it wasn’t. |
- anzi in fact
| Non mi dispiace, anzi sono contento. | I don’t mind, in fact I’m glad. |
- quando when
| Giocano fuori quando fa bel tempo. | They play outside when the weather’s nice. |
- Note that in sentences referring to the future, the future tense is used after quando.
| Lo farò quando avrò tempo. | I’ll do it when I have time. |
- For more information on the Future tense, see The future tense.
- mentre while
| È successo mentre eri fuori. | It happened while you were out. |
- come as
| Ho fatto come hai detto tu. | I did as you told me. |
- Note that quando and mentre tell you WHEN something happens; come tells you HOW something happens.