DELE B1 Connectors: Practice Test & Review

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Spanish connectors are one of the most tested points on the DELE B1 reading section. They hold sentences together, signal contrast, add ideas, and mark cause and consequence. If you can’t tell “sin embargo” from “por lo tanto,” you’ll lose points on every reading passage.

This page gives you a five-part practice quiz: an evaluation set to see where you stand, three practice sets to drill the main connector groups, and a challenge set to confirm mastery. If you get stuck, scroll down for the full explanation. Ready? Start with the evaluation set below.

Grammar Guide

The Rule

Connectors are words and phrases that link ideas within a sentence or between sentences. They signal the relationship between two pieces of information: addition, contrast, cause, consequence, purpose, condition, or conclusion.

Spanish connectors fall into groups. Learning them by function is faster than memorizing a list.

Addition

Connector	Meaning	Example	Translation
y	and	Hablo español y francés.	I speak Spanish and French.
e	and (before i- or hi-)	Hablo español e inglés.	I speak Spanish and English.
además	moreover, also	Es inteligente; además, es trabajador.	He’s smart; moreover, he’s hardworking.
es más	what’s more	No vino; es más, no llamó.	He didn’t come; what’s more, he didn’t call.
también	also	Yo también quiero ir.	I also want to go.

Contrast

Connector	Meaning	Example	Translation
pero	but	Estudié, pero no aprobé.	I studied, but I didn’t pass.
sin embargo	however	Quería ir; sin embargo, no pude.	I wanted to go; however, I couldn’t.
no obstante	nevertheless	Es caro; no obstante, lo compraré.	It’s expensive; nevertheless, I’ll buy it.
aunque	although, even though	Fui aunque no quería.	I went although I didn’t want to.
mientras que	whereas	Yo estudio; mientras que él trabaja.	I study; whereas he works.

Cause

Connector	Meaning	Example	Translation
porque	because	No salí porque llovía.	I didn’t go out because it was raining.
ya que	since, given that	Ya que estás aquí, ayúdame.	Since you’re here, help me.
debido a que	due to the fact that	No salimos debido a que hacía frío.	We didn’t go out due to the fact that it was cold.
puesto que	since	Puesto que no vino, nos fuimos.	Since he didn’t come, we left.
como	since, as	Como no vino, nos fuimos.	Since he didn’t come, we left.

Consequence

Connector	Meaning	Example	Translation
por lo tanto	therefore	Estudié; por lo tanto, aprobé.	I studied; therefore, I passed.
por eso	that’s why	Llovía; por eso no salí.	It was raining; that’s why I didn’t go out.
así que	so	Llovía, así que no salí.	It was raining, so I didn’t go out.
por consiguiente	consequently	No estudió; por consiguiente, suspendió.	He didn’t study; consequently, he failed.
entonces	then, so	No había nadie, entonces me fui.	There was no one, so I left.

Purpose

Connector	Meaning	Example	Translation
para + infinitive	in order to	Estudio para aprobar.	I study in order to pass.
para que + subjunctive	so that	Te lo digo para que lo sepas.	I’m telling you so that you know.
a fin de + infinitive	in order to	Trabajo a fin de ahorrar.	I work in order to save.
con el objetivo de	with the goal of	Estudio con el objetivo de aprobar.	I study with the goal of passing.

Para uses the infinitive when the subject is the same. Para que uses the subjunctive when the subject changes.

Condition

Connector	Meaning	Example	Translation
si	if	Si estudias, aprobarás.	If you study, you’ll pass.
siempre que	as long as	Iré siempre que pueda.	I’ll go as long as I can.
con tal de que	provided that	Te ayudo con tal de que me escuches.	I’ll help you provided that you listen.
a menos que	unless	No iré a menos que me invites.	I won’t go unless you invite me.

All of these except si take the subjunctive when they introduce a condition about the future.

Discourse Markers

Marker	Meaning	Example	Translation
en mi opinión	in my opinion	En mi opinión, tienes razón.	In my opinion, you’re right.
es decir	that is to say	Es vegetariano; es decir, no come carne.	He’s vegetarian; that is to say, he doesn’t eat meat.
por ejemplo	for example	Por ejemplo, el español.	For example, Spanish.
en resumen	in summary	En resumen, todo salió bien.	In summary, everything went well.
en conclusión	in conclusion	En conclusión, debes estudiar más.	In conclusion, you should study more.
por cierto	by the way	Por cierto, ¿tienes hora?	By the way, do you have the time?
en primer lugar	firstly	En primer lugar, hablemos del tema.	Firstly, let’s talk about the topic.

Common Mistakes

1. Using pero and sino interchangeably.
   ✗ No es español, pero francés.
   ✓ No es español, sino francés.
   Sino corrects a negative statement. Pero contrasts two positive statements.
2. Using porque with a consequence.
   ✗ Llovía, porque no salí.
   ✓ Llovía, por eso no salí.
   Porque gives a cause. Por eso gives a consequence.
3. Using para que with the same subject.
   ✗ Estudio para que apruebe.
   ✓ Estudio para aprobar.
   Para que requires a different subject in the subordinate clause.
4. Using aunque with the indicative when the condition is unreal.
   ✗ Aunque llueve, saldré. (if it’s not raining now)
   ✓ Aunque llueva, saldré.
   Aunque + subjunctive for a hypothetical or unreal condition.

Quick Decision Chart

Ask yourself	Answer	Connector
Am I adding information?	Yes	y, e, además, es más
Am I contrasting?	Yes	pero, sin embargo, aunque
Am I giving a cause?	Yes	porque, ya que, debido a que
Am I giving a consequence?	Yes	por lo tanto, por eso, así que
Am I giving a purpose (same subject)?	Yes	para + infinitive
Am I giving a purpose (different subject)?	Yes	para que + subjunctive
Am I stating a condition?	Yes	si, siempre que, con tal de que
Am I introducing an opinion or conclusion?	Yes	en mi opinión, en resumen, en conclusión

Two Sentences That Show the Difference

No es español, pero habla español.
He’s not Spanish, but he speaks Spanish.

• Pero = contrast between two positive facts

No es español, sino francés.
He’s not Spanish, but French.

• Sino = corrects a negative statement

Estudio para aprobar.
I study in order to pass.

• Para + infinitive = same subject

Te lo digo para que lo sepas.
I’m telling you so that you know.

• Para que + subjunctive = different subject