Russian Conjunctions: и, а, но and the Difference Between Them

Russian conjunctions look like the easiest grammar in the language: short, invariable, never declined. Most of them are. The trap is right at the start, in the three words for and and but. Russian has two words where English has and, и (i) and а (a), plus но (no) for but, and the line between them does not fall where English puts it. Russians will forgive a wrong case ending without blinking and still correct you on и and а, because swapping them changes what you mean.

So this page spends most of its time on those three, and then covers the clause-joining words, which are simpler and come with one firm rule about commas.

и: plain addition

И adds. Both things are true and the second sits alongside or follows on from the first:

Ма́ма и па́па до́ма. - Mum and Dad are at home.

Он пришёл, и мы пошли́ домо́й. - He arrived and we went home.

Я зна́ю его́, и он зна́ет меня́. - I know him and he knows me.

It is also the too in и я (me too), and doubled it gives both... and: он и говори́т, и пи́шет, he both speaks and writes. Nothing here surprises an English speaker. The surprise is how much of English and it does not cover.

а: contrast without contradiction

А is the word English lacks. It sets two different things side by side so you notice the difference between them, but neither cancels the other. The nearest English is whereas or while, and in speech English just says and with a bit of stress:

Ма́ма до́ма, а па́па на рабо́те. - Mum is at home and Dad is at work.

Я люблю́ чай, а она́ лю́бит ко́фе. - I like tea and she likes coffee.

Брат до́ма, а сестра́ в шко́ле. - My brother is at home and my sister is at school.

Each sentence says something about two different people, and sets them against each other. That is the signal for а. With и instead, a Russian hears two unconnected facts read off a list, as if you had forgotten you were comparing them.

А also does three everyday jobs that English does not do with and at all:

• Switching the question back. Меня́ зову́т А́нна, а тебя́? - My name is Anna, and yours? Just а ты? on its own is and you?, the reply to how are you.
• Correcting. In the pattern not X but Y, the but is always а: э́то не ко́фе, а чай, it's not coffee, it's tea; э́то не мой брат, а мой друг, he's not my brother, he's my friend.
• Starting a sentence. A Russian question often opens with а, meaning something like and so or by the way: а где па́па?, and where's Dad?

но: but, against expectation

Но is the real but. The second half goes against what the first led you to expect:

Я хочу́ пойти́, но не могу́. - I want to go, but I can't.

Уже́ по́здно, но он рабо́тает. - It's late, but he's still working.

Э́то тру́дно, но интере́сно. - It's difficult but interesting.

The test that settles almost every case: is there a despite in the meaning? Despite wanting to, I can't; despite the hour, he's working. If yes, но. If you are merely comparing two things, а. In speech а can also carry a note of surprise (уже́ по́здно, а он рабо́тает, it's late and he's still working), but но is never wrong when there is a despite.

Two relatives of но are worth recognising. Зато́ means but on the other hand, a compensation: something bad is balanced by something good. Одна́ко is however, and belongs more to writing than speech.

или: or

И́ли (ili) is or, and behaves exactly like its English equivalent: чай и́ли ко́фе?, tea or coffee? Doubled, it gives either... or: и́ли ты, и́ли я, either you or me. The negative partner, neither... nor, is ни... ни, which the negation article covers along with the double negative it brings.

Joining clauses: что, чтобы, потому что, если

The second group of conjunctions starts a clause of its own. All of them share one rule English does not have: a comma always marks off their clause, before the conjunction in mid-sentence and after the whole clause when it comes first (Е́сли хо́чешь, я помогу́). Russian punctuation is not a matter of taste here. The comma marks where the clause begins, and leaving it out is a spelling mistake, not a style choice.

Three of these need a word more.

что is rarely dropped. English says I know he's here as easily as I know that he's here. Russian keeps the что and the comma: я зна́ю, что он зде́сь. The main exception is after verbs of thinking in casual speech, where я ду́маю, он зде́сь is perfectly natural, but with знать, сказа́ть and most other verbs, put the что in.

что́бы has two shapes. When the subject stays the same, it takes an infinitive: я пришёл, что́бы помо́чь, I came to help. When a different person is meant to do the thing, the verb after что́бы goes into the past tense, even when the meaning is present or future: я хочу́, что́бы ты пришёл, I want you to come; скажи́ ему́, что́бы он позвони́л, tell him to ring. That past-tense form is a leftover of the old subjunctive, and it is not negotiable.

потому́ что and поэ́тому point in opposite directions. Both contain потому, and learners swap them constantly. Потому́ что introduces the cause (because I'm tired); поэ́тому introduces the result (so I'm at home). Get them backwards and your sentence says the reverse of what you meant.

ли: the whether that is not если

English uses if for two different things: a condition (if he comes, I'll tell him) and an indirect question (I don't know if he'll come). Russian splits them. Е́сли is only the condition. For the indirect question, the whether, Russian uses the particle ли, placed straight after the word in question, usually the verb:

Я не зна́ю, придёт ли он. - I don't know whether he'll come.

Я спроси́л, зна́ет ли он. - I asked if he knew.

Word for word, I don't know, will-come whether he. It looks odd for a week and then becomes one of the tidiest bits of the language.

Four more you will meet early

These turn up in the first stories you read and are easy once you have seen them once.

• Пока (poka) is while: пока́ ты спишь, я рабо́таю, while you sleep, I work. It is also the everyday bye, which is the same word doing a different job. With не it flips to until: подожди́, пока́ я не приду́, wait until I come. That не does not negate anything; it is simply how Russian builds until, and learners who try to translate it get confused.
• Как то́лько (kak tolko) is as soon as: как то́лько он пришёл, мы на́чали, as soon as he arrived, we started.
• Не то́лько... но и is not only... but also: я не то́лько говорю́, но и пишу́, I not only speak but also write. This is the one place where the correction after a negative takes но, because the first half is not being cancelled, only extended.
• Ведь (ved) is harder to translate than to use. It means something like after all or you know, pointing to a reason the listener should already accept: я уста́л, ведь уже́ по́здно, I'm tired, it's late after all.

None of these needs a table. Each is worth learning as a phrase with one example sentence attached.

Mistakes English speakers make

Using и for every and. The classic. Я люблю́ чай, и она́ лю́бит ко́фе is not wrong in the way a bad ending is wrong, but it sounds like a list, not a comparison. When two different people or things are being compared, reach for а.

Using но after a negative. It's not coffee but tea pulls English speakers towards но. After not X, the correction is always а: э́то не ко́фе, а чай.

Translating if as е́сли when it means whether. Я не зна́ю, е́сли он придёт is a word-for-word copy of English that does not work in Russian. Whether is ли.

Using the present after е́сли and когда́. English says if he comes and when I get home, in the present, for a future event. Russian uses the future: е́сли он придёт, я скажу́; когда́ я приду́ домо́й, я позвоню́. The time is future, so the verb is future, and the perfective future is usually the one you want.

Leaving out the comma. Я зна́ю что он зде́сь without the comma is simply misspelt. Before что, что́бы, потому́ что, е́сли, когда́, а and но, the comma goes in.

What to do next

Make и, а and но a listening exercise rather than a rule you recite. Every time you meet а in a Russian sentence, ask what is being compared with what; after a few dozen examples the choice starts to feel obvious in a way no table can make it.

Then go back to Russian word order, because а and word order work together: the thing being contrasted tends to come first in each half. And read any of the stories in the Russian course looking for а specifically. It is one of the commonest words in the language, and seeing it at work in real sentences teaches the difference from и faster than anything else will.