то ..., то

Now ... Now with То ..., То

Level 5Sounds Like to ..., to

То ..., то = now ..., now: То дождж, то снег. Ён то смяецца, то плача. (He laughs one minute and cries the next.)

How It Works

Meaning. То ..., то says that two or more things keep taking turns. English uses now ..., now, one minute ..., the next, or sometimes ..., sometimes:

  • То дождж, то снег. (Now rain, now snow.)
  • Ён то смяецца, то плача. (He laughs one minute and cries the next.)
  • То тут, то там гарэлі агні. (Lights were burning here and there.)

Build it. Put то before each alternative, including the first. It can join nouns, adjectives, adverbs, verbs or whole clauses, and there can be more than two: то раніцай, то днём, то ўвечары.

Commas. Like other repeated conjunctions, то ..., то has a comma before the second то and each one after it, but not before the first.

Do not confuse it with ці то ..., ці то. То ..., то describes real alternation: both things happen, one after the other. Ці то ..., ці то expresses uncertainty: the speaker does not know which one is true. Не то ..., не то is similar: не то дождж, не то снег (something between rain and snow).

For a simple choice between options, use або or ці.

Examples (6)

  1. То дождж, то снег.

    Now rain, now snow.

    Word by Word: Now rain, now snow.

  2. Ён то смяецца, то плача.

    He laughs one minute and cries the next.

    Word by Word: He now laughs, now cries.

  3. То тут, то там гарэлі агні.

    Lights were burning here and there.

    Word by Word: Now here, now there burned lights.

  4. Вада то цёплая, то халодная.

    The water is warm one moment and cold the next.

    Word by Word: Water now warm, now cold.

  5. То адзін, то другі падымаў руку.

    First one and then another raised a hand.

    Word by Word: Now one, now other raised hand.

  6. Сястра то тэлефануе кожны дзень, то знікае на месяц.

    One minute my sister calls every day, the next she disappears for a month.

    Word by Word: Sister now calls every day, now disappears for month.

Common Mistakes

  • Leaving out the comma before the second то.

    То дождж то снег.
    То дождж, то снег.

    Repeated conjunctions such as то ..., то take a comma before every repetition after the first.

  • Dropping the first то.

    Ён смяецца, то плача.
    Ён то смяецца, то плача.

    The construction needs то before each alternative, including the first.

  • Using то ..., то for uncertainty.

    То ён спаў, то не хацеў адказваць.
    Ці то ён спаў, ці то не хацеў адказваць.

    The intended meaning is Either he was asleep or he did not want to answer; I do not know which. То ..., то would say that both happened by turns. For uncertainty, use ці то ..., ці то.

How It Connects

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

то ..., тоLevel 5Now ... Now with То ..., То

Learn This First

Now ... now follows neither ... nor.

Words in This Pattern

то