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Coordinating conjunctions in Spanish
The conjunctions "o (u)", "o ... o" or "o bien ... o bien" in Spanish are coordinating conjunctions that can translate into English as "or" or "either ... or".
Conjunction o and u
"o" can either connect two elements in a sentence or it can connect two independent clauses. For example:
The conjunction o becomes u when the following word starts with o- or ho-, for example:
To learn more about this change from o to u see When the Spanish conjunction o becomes u
Conjunction o ... o / o bien ... o bien
The conjunction o is repeated twice: "o ... o" if we want to say "either ... or". The construction "o bien ... o bien" also has this meaning .
Here are some examples:
Tenemos dos opciones, o vamos en tren o vamos en autobús.We have two options, either going by train or going by bus.
Bear in mind we sometimes omit the first conjunction (but never the second), for example:
Occasionally you may find a combination of o and o bien in the same sentence. For example:
Note that conjunctions o/o bien can either present a person with a choice to make (either one thing/idea or another) or both options are seen as possible. There is a choice to make here:
Tiene que venir o tu padre o tu madre. Tu hermano no puede venir a la reunión.Either your father or your mother has to come. Your brother cannot come to the meeting.
Whereas here both options are possible:
See also Using ni... ni... for neither... nor... in Spanish
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Examples and resources
Tenemos dos opciones, o vamos en tren o vamos en autobús.We have two options, either going by train or going by bus.
No podemos invitar a tanta gente, o bien invitamos a la familia o bien invitamos a los amigos.We can't invite so many people, either we invite the family or we invite friends.
No podemos invitar a tanta gente, invitamos a la familia o bien invitamos a los amigos.We can't invite so many people, (either) we invite the family or we invite friends.
En septiembre iremos a Roma o viajaremos a París.In September we will go to Rome or we will travel to Paris.
