Rocket Spanish Community

What's the difference between "sin que" and "sino que"?

Hello Esperanza,

That’s a good question, and this is how I understand it.

“Sin que…” is used when you want to express something fictitious or that hasn’t happened. Por ejemplo: ¡El ladrón se fue sin que lo pillaran! - The thief left without being cought! – as you can see the thief was never caught so it is a fictitious situation.

“Sino que…” is used when you want to introduce a subordinate clause to previously stated information.
Por ejemplo: Javier no sabe tocar el piano, sino que toca la guitarra. – Javier doesn’t know how to play the piano but he does play the guitar.

Keep up the good work and I hope that helps.