Spanish · Chapter 37 · Lesson 8 · Grammar primer
Advanced negation: ni, sino vs pero, tampoco
The negation tools beyond no and nunca: ni... ni (neither... nor), tampoco (not either), ni siquiera (not even), and the one learners get wrong - sino vs pero (no es rojo sino azul).
The short version
Sino corrects a negative, pero just contrasts
Both come out as 'but' in English, and that shared translation is the whole trap. Pero simply adds a contrasting idea. Sino corrects a negative you have just made, so it needs a no in front of it. The test: if you could say 'but rather' or 'but instead', it is sino. Add que when a conjugated verb follows.
No es rojo sino azul.
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