Conjunciones coordinantes
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The words "and" and "or" are coordinating conjunctions. In Spanish, these two words have a few different forms depending on what they’re used with.
And = y, e
"And" is normally translated as y.
Por ejemplo…
José y Ana hablan francés. | José and Ana speak French. | |
Me gustan las fresas y las frambuesas. | I like strawberries and raspberries. | |
Necesitamos sal y hielo. | We need salt and ice. |
When "and" precedes a word that begins with the sound [i], the Spanish translation is e instead of y, in order to avoid having two "i" sounds in a row. This includes words that begin with i and hi, but not words that begin with hie.
Hay templos e iglesias en este calle. | There are temples and churches on this street. | |
Todos mis hijos e hijas han ido a la universidad. | All of my sons and daughters have gone to college. |
Or = o, ó, u
"Or" is normally translated as o.
Por ejemplo…
¿Quieres café o té? | Do you want coffee or tea? | |
Paco o David puede ayudarte. | Paco or David can help you. |
When "or" precedes a word that begins with the sound [o], the Spanish translation is u instead of o, in order to avoid having two "o" sounds in a row. This includes words that begin with o and ho.
Hay siete u ocho estudiantes en la oficina. | There are seven or eight students in the office. | |
¿Es vertical u horizontal? | Is it vertical or horizontal? |
When o is used with numerals, it becomes ó with an accent, to avoid confusion with the number 0.
2 ó 3 | 2 or 3 | |
9 ó 10 | 9 or 10 |
Related lessons
En français
- Conjonctions de coordination
Interestingly, the alternate Spanish forms e and u sound just like et and ou.
In italiano
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