hortaz / halaber / dena den

Formal Connectors

Level 5

Formal writing links sentences with connectors: Ez da inor etorri; hortaz, bilera bertan behera geratu da (Nobody came; therefore, the meeting has been cancelled).

How It Works

1. Result: hortaz and horrenbestez. Both mean that what follows is a consequence of what came before. Hortaz is a more formal beraz; horrenbestez is typical of official texts.

  • Epea atzo amaitu zen; horrenbestez, ez da eskaera gehiagorik onartuko.

2. Addition: halaber and era berean. They add a point of the same kind, like "likewise" or "also". They can open the sentence or sit after the subject:

  • Halaber, eskerrak eman nahi dizkiegu boluntario guztiei.
  • Gobernuak, era berean, laguntza berriak iragarri ditu.

In everyday speech, gainera does this job.

3. Setting aside: dena den and edonola ere. They mean "in any case" or "anyway": whatever was said before, the next point stands. They are close to hala ere (nevertheless).

  • Dena den, ez da erraza izango.
  • Edonola ere, bihar deituko dizut.

4. Punctuation. After a full sentence, put a semicolon or a full stop before the connector and a comma after it: ...; hortaz, ... Inside a sentence, put commas on both sides: Gobernuak, halaber, ...

Tip: Before you use one, name its job: result, addition or setting aside. A common slip is using a result connector where you mean a contrast.

Examples (6)

  1. Ez da inor etorri; hortaz, bilera bertan behera geratu da.

    Nobody came; therefore, the meeting has been cancelled.

  2. Epea atzo amaitu zen; horrenbestez, ez da eskaera gehiagorik onartuko.

    The deadline ended yesterday; consequently, no more applications will be accepted.

  3. Halaber, eskerrak eman nahi dizkiegu boluntario guztiei.

    Likewise, we would like to thank all the volunteers.

  4. Gobernuak, era berean, laguntza berriak iragarri ditu.

    The government has likewise announced new aid.

  5. Dena den, ez da erraza izango.

    In any case, it will not be easy.

  6. Edonola ere, bihar deituko dizut.

    Anyway, I will call you tomorrow.

Common Mistakes

  • Using a result connector for a contrast.

    Asko ikasi du; hortaz, ez du azterketa gainditu.
    Asko ikasi du; hala ere, ez du azterketa gainditu.

    hortaz means therefore, so it says that failing followed from studying. For an unexpected result, use hala ere (nevertheless) or dena den.

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

hortaz / halaber / dena denLevel 5Formal Connectors

Learn This First

Formal connectors follow the linking words.

Words in This Pattern

hortazhorrenbestezhalaberedonolaereerabera