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LearnModule 8 · Lesson 6 of 30Independent User · CEFR B2, first halfUnit 2 · La concesión

Pero, sin embargo, no obstante

Module 8 of the free Spanish course (CEFR B2, first half), lesson 6 of 30: . On this page: 8 words with their genders and respellings, the rule, a watch-out line and the audio — the study notes behind the workbook's QR.

The words

SpanishEnglishSay it
sin embargohoweverseen ehm-BAR-goh
no obstanteneverthelessnoh ohbs-TAHN-teh
aun asíeven soown ah-SEE
la concesiónthe concessionlah kohn-seh-SYOHN
la cifrathe figure (number)lah SEE-frah
otra cosasomething elseOH-trah KOH-sah
concederto grantkohn-seh-DEHR
la posturathe stancelah pohs-TOO-rah

Respellings follow the course’s say-it key; the stressed syllable is in capitals. Print this lesson’s flashcards (PDF) — the words on the front, the English and respelling on the back.

La regla · The rule

Concession is the move that makes an argument sound grown-up: you grant the other side something and keep your own position anyway. Pero is the plain one. Sin embargo is however, and it opens a sentence with a comma after it.

Y también · And also

No obstante is its formal twin, meaning nevertheless: no obstante, las cifras cuentan otra cosa. Aun así (even so) is the spoken one. B2 writing that never concedes reads as a list of opinions — la postura (the stance) has to be earned.

Ojo · Watch out

sin embargo and no obstante open a sentence and take a comma after them; aun así sits anywhere. In formal writing, reach for sin embargo before pero at the start of a paragraph — and never write sinembargo as one word.

Do it now — on paper

  1. Say all 8 words aloud twice from the respelling, then once from the Spanish spelling alone — begin with sin embargo.
  2. Copy every word with its accents on paper; then cover the English column and write each meaning back from the Spanish.
  3. Write two sentences of your own that get the watch-out line right, then the two practice pages of workbook lesson 6 in Module 8 are the written half of this page.

This free course is the reading half. The writing half — write-in lessons, daily practice pages with built-in review, self-checks and a full answer key — is the companion workbook series, The Spanish Ladder: one workbook per module, fifteen in all, released band by band with the Basic band (Modules 1–5) first.

Keep these words

Turn this lesson’s words into flashcards, then space your reviews — the two habits the research behind our study guides backs hardest.

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