Some other common conjunctions - CONJUNCTIONS - Easy Learning Italian Grammar

Easy Learning Italian Grammar (2011)

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.

Tip

invece 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 page 93.

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.