In Spanish “marcadores discursivos” or discourse markers are essential elements that help connect ideas and make communication more effective.
In this article, you will learn the most common discourse markers in Spanish, including their meanings and examples of their use which will help you improve your Spanish communication skills.
Overview of Discourse Markers in Spanish
Discourse markers in Spanish are words or phrases that serve as a signpost for the listener or reader, indicating the direction and structure of the discourse.
Discourse markers help to connect sentences, paragraphs, and ideas, making the communication more coherent and efficient.
The elements that function as markers belong to different word types. What they do share is a function. Thus, what unites discourse markers is not the grammatical category to which they belong but the role they serve in a sentence.
Some of the most common discourse markers in Spanish include “además” (besides), “asimismo” (likewise), “por otro lado” (on the other hand), “por lo tanto” (therefore), “en resumen” (in summary), and “finalmente” (finally).
Discourse Markers in Spanish and their Meanings
The following categories try to make general classifications and propose a categorization based on the discursive function they attribute to discursive markers.
- Estructuradores de la información / Information structures: elements that allow organizing the information within the text
- Conectores / Connectors: linking a discourse member to a previous discourse member or to a contextual assumption.
- Reformuladores / Restatements: specialized in introducing a new formulation of what has been stated in the previous discourse.
- Operadores / Operators: markers that do not connect two units and that condition the discursive possibilities of the segment in which they are included.
- Marcadores conversacionales / Conversational markers: typical of conversational language
| Estructuradores de la información | Spanish | English |
| Comentadores | pues, pues bien, así las cosas, etc. | well, that’s the way it is, etc. |
| Ordenadores | en primer lugar/en segundo lugar; por una parte/por otra parte; de un lado/de otro lado, etc. | firstly/secondly; on the one hand/on the other hand; on the one hand/on the other hand, etc. |
| Digresores | por cierto, a todo esto, a propósito, etc. | by the way, |
| Conectores | Spanish | English |
| Aditivos | además, encima, aparte, incluso, etc. | besides, on top of, apart, even, etc. |
| Consecutivos | por tanto, por consiguiente, por ende, en consecuencia, de ahí, entonces, pues, así, así pues, etc. | therefore, consequently, hence, then, so, so then, etc. |
| Contraargumentativos | en cambio, por el contrario, por contra, antes bien, sin embargo, no obstante, con todo, etc. | on the other hand, on the contrary, against, rather, before, however, notwithstanding, nevertheless, etc. |
| Reformuladores | Spanish | English |
| Explicativos | o sea, es decir, esto es, a saber, etc. | that is to say, that is, namely, etc. |
| De rectificación | mejor dicho, mejor aún, más bien, etc. | better said, better still, rather, etc. |
| De distanciamiento | en cualquier caso, en todo caso, de todos modos, etc. | in any case, anyway, etc. |
| Recapitulativos | en suma, en conclusión, en definitiva, en fin, al fin y al cabo, etc. | in sum, in conclusion, in short, in the end, after all, etc. |
| Operadores | Spanish | English |
| Operadores de refuerzo argumentativo | en realidad, en el fondo, de hecho, etc. | actually, in fact, etc. |
| Operadores de concreción | por ejemplo, en particular, etc. | for example, in particular, etc. |
| Marcadores conversacionales | Spanish | English |
| De modalidad epistémica | claro, desde luego, por lo visto, etc. | of course, apparently, etc. |
| De modalidad deóntica | bueno, bien, vale, etc. | well, okay, all right, etc. |
| Enfocadores de la alteridad | hombre, mira, oye, etc. | man, look, hear, etc. |
| Metadiscursivos conversacionales | bueno, eh, este, etc. | well, eh, this, etc. |
Examples of Discourse Markers in Sentences
To better understand how to use discourse markers in Spanish, let’s take a look at some examples.
| Discourse marker | Example | English |
| Además is used to add an additional idea or point to the conversation or written text. | Además de estudiar, también trabajo. | besides |
| Asimismo is used to connect two ideas that are similar or parallel in some way. | Asimismo, la empresa tiene un fuerte compromiso con el medio ambiente. | likewise |
| Por otro lado is used to introduce a contrasting idea or point of view. | Me gusta estudiar química, pero por otro lado, también disfruto de tocar música. | on the other hand |
| Por lo tanto is used to express a conclusion or result that follows from a previous statement or idea. | Hemos decidido unirnos a la huelga de maestros. Por lo tanto, las clases están canceladas. | therefore |
| En resumen is used to summarize a longer text or conversation. | En resumen, podemos decir que el proyecto fue un éxito. | in summary / to sum up |
| Finalmente is used to signal the end of a text or conversation or to introduce a final idea or point. | Finalmente, me gustaría agradecer a todos por su ayuda. | finally |
As you practice using these discourse markers, you will begin to develop a greater sense of which marker to use in different situations and how to use them effectively to connect your ideas.
Keep in mind that these markers are just a small sample of the many discourse markers in Spanish, so keep exploring and learning to improve your mastery of the language.
