Et, sed, autem

A Latin dictionary will tell you that autem means however, moreover, but, now, and. That is five glosses covering opposite directions, and it is not the dictionary's fault: autem does not translate, it signals.

These small words are the commonest in the language - eighteen of them sit in the first hundred ranks of this course - and they are the last thing a learner gets comfortable with. Worth taking properly.

The joiners

et - and. The default, and the one that carries most traffic.

atque (also written ac) - and, and also. Slightly weightier than et; it tends to add something the writer wants noticed.

-que - and, attached to the end of the second word rather than standing in front of it. Senatus populusque is the senate and the people. It binds tightly, and Romans used it for pairs that belong together.

quoque - also, too. Follows the word it applies to: ego quoque, me too.

The turners

sed - but. Plain contradiction, the same job as English but.

at - but, and yet. Sharper than sed; it often introduces an objection, sometimes an imagined one from an opponent.

autem - the one that never translates cleanly. It is a mild turn, a shift of attention rather than a contradiction, and it is postpositive, meaning it comes second in its clause rather than first. Often the best English for it is nothing at all, or a comma, or now in the sense of now, as for the other thing.

tamen - nevertheless, and yet. Stronger than autem, concessive: what follows holds despite what came before.

The alternatives

aut - or, where the options exclude each other. Aut vincere aut mori, either to conquer or to die.

vel - or, where they do not. Vel hoc vel illud, this or that, take your pick.

That distinction is real and Romans observed it. English or covers both, which is why the pair looks like pointless duplication until you notice what it is doing.

nec (also neque) - and not, nor.

The explainers

This group tells you the next clause is a reason.

enim - for, indeed. Postpositive, like autem. It is the gentlest of them: it justifies what was just said rather than announcing a proof.

nam - for, because. Comes first in its clause, and is a little more assertive than enim.

quia - because. Straightforwardly subordinating; it introduces a genuine reason clause.

The concluders

And this group says the next clause is a consequence.

igitur - therefore. Usually postpositive. Cogito, ergo sum is the famous one, but Descartes could equally have written igitur.

ergo - therefore. Stands first, and is more emphatic.

itaque - and so, accordingly. Narrative rather than logical: it moves a story on rather than closing an argument.

The emphasiser

quidem - indeed, certainly, at least. Postpositive, and it works by conceding: ego quidem is I, for my part, with the implication that others might differ. It very often sets up a sed in the next clause.

Postpositive, and why it matters

Four of these - autem, enim, igitur, quidem - almost never come first in their clause. They sit second, after the first word.

So when you are reading and the second word of a sentence is one of them, do not try to attach it to the word in front. Mentally lift it to the start:

Ille autem respondit. - However, he answered.

Non enim possum. - For I cannot.

Once you expect that, a whole class of confusing sentences stops being confusing.

What to take away