Oppositional Coordinating Conjunctions

Moving forward with our overview on Italian conjunctions, this week, we will go over a selection of oppositional coordinating conjunctions. Their function is to present a sort of contrast, contradiction, or counterargument to an idea/statement mentioned previously. They have the power to link either two words or two entire clauses together.

The conjunctions on which we will focus in this lesson are:

ma = but
però = but, yet; however, though
tuttavia = however, nevertheless, still
nondimeno = however, nevertheless, regardless, yet
eppure = and still, and yet
anzi = actually, in fact, on the contrary; rather, or better still
comunque = however, no matter how; nevertheless

Ma

Ma is the Italian equivalent of the English but, and has two slightly different meanings. First, we have the regular oppositional ma, which establishes a sort of contrast between two elements in a sentence:

È un ragazzo intelligente, ma si distrae facilmente. He is a smart guy, but is easily distracted.

The second type does not focus on a contradiction, as much as it limits or tones down the validity of what has already been stated. In other words, it tends to express a judgement that stems from a different point of view. This form can be referred to as the specifying ma:

Oppositional ma: Quel rumore non era uno sparo, ma un fuoco d'artificio. That noise was not a shotgun, but a firework. Specifying ma: Questo libro non sarà un capolavoro, ma ha avuto un gran successo commerciale. This book may well not be a masterpiece, but has been a huge commercial success.

Però

Però also means but, though it bears a slightly more oppositional connotation than ma. It can also mean though:

Sono un po’ stanca, non tanto però da non poter studiare. I’m a bit tired, but/though not so much as to not be able to study.

Tuttavia

Tuttavia normally means however, nevertheless or still:

È improbabile che Sveva venga all’appuntamento, tuttavia penso di aspettare ancora un po’. It is unlikely that Sveva will come to our meeting, nevertheless I think I will wait a little longer.

Nondimeno

Nondimeno, though not as common as the other conjunctions we have been exploring so far, has an interesting function. Usually, it serves to introduce a clause that breaks the supposed limits or boundaries present in the other clause, as follows:

Oscar dice di non essere bravo in matematica, nondimeno ha ottenuto un punteggio del 100% nell’esame di calcolo! Oscar says he’s not good at mathematics, yet he scored 100% on his calculus exam!

In the example above, nondimeno elaborates on how, although Oscar claims to be bad at math, he still received a perfect score.

Eppure

Eppure means and still/ and yet, as follows:

Enrico non è venuto a trovarci, eppure sa che partiamo domani mattina. Enrico did not come to see us, and yet he knows we leave tomorrow morning.

Anzi

The Italian anzi is mostly equivalent to the English actually, since it usually clarifies, corrects or elaborates on a (usually negative) statement:

Il nostro vicino non è per nulla egoista, anzi sa essere molto generoso. Our neighbor isn’t selfish at all, actually he can be very generous.

Comunque

When used as an oppositional coordinating conjunction, comunque means however or nevertheless and is a synonym of tuttavia:

Daniele probabilmente rimarrà a Parigi tutta la settimana, comunque ti telefonerà per farti gli auguri di compleanno. Daniele will probably remain in Paris all week, however/nevertheless, he will call you to wish you a happy birthday.

Comunque can also play a correlative role and connect two clauses, as such:

Comunque presenteremo la notizia, non riusciremo a convincerlo. However we (decide to) present the news, we will not be able to convince him.

NB: Comunque may also act an adverb, which should not be confused with the conjunction. This adverb also means anyway, such as:

Lo compro comunque. I’ll buy it anyway.