To express yourself more coherently and elegantly in German, you can use paired conjunctions. Einerseits.....andererseits and zwar ....aber are two pairs of conjunctions that can confuse learners. Today's article is about these 2 pairs of conjunctions.

Let's find out!!!

1. Einerseits.....,andererseits (on the one hand… on the other hand…)

• Used when you compare two different events or actions, or two different thoughts or opinions about a situation (2 aspects of one issue).

• This pair of conjunctions can be in first position in the sentence but can also stand in the middle of the sentence.

• The two parts of the pair can swap places with each other and are separated by a comma.

Das Handy ist einerseits sehr nützlich, es macht andererseits süchtig.

(On the one hand the mobile phone is very useful, on the other hand it is addictive.)

= Das Handy macht einerseits süchtig, es ist andererseits sehr nützlich.

Einerseits ist Maria gern zu Hause, andererseits geht sie auch gerne mit Freunden aus.

(On the one hand Maria likes being at home, on the other hand she also likes going out with friends.)

= Einerseits geht Maria auch gerne mit Freunden aus, andererseits ist sie gern zu Hause.

2. Zwar…,aber… (..., but…)

• Zwar…, aber has the same meaning as ‘’aber’’ but is more emphatic.

• It expresses two contrasting events or matters. If one event or matter has a positive (positiv) meaning, the other will have a negative (negativ) meaning.

• Zwar can stand in many positions in the sentence. Usually zwar stands after the conjugated verb. Aber always stands at the beginning of the second clause, after the comma.

• The position of the verb in each clause does not change (second position).

Er ist zwar alt, aber er ist noch sehr aktiv.

(He is old, but he is still very active.)

Zwar muss ich zum Arzt gehen, aber danach kann ich zu dir kommen.

(Tomorrow I have to go to the hospital, but afterwards I can come to your place.)

***Note: When a pronoun appears in the sentence, zwar stands right after the pronoun rather than after the verb as in the general case. The order is as follows:

Verb + pronoun + zwar: Er sieht sie zwar nicht, aber er kann sie hören.

(He cannot see her, but he can hear her.)