следователно / при това
Formal Connectors
Следователно means consequently or therefore: Следователно хипотезата е вярна. При това means moreover or and at that: Работата е трудна и при това зле платена. (The work is hard and badly paid at that.)
How It Works
1. Следователно: the conclusion. It works like затова or така че, but it sounds logical and formal, as in science, law and argument:
- Всички проби са отрицателни. Следователно хипотезата е вярна. (All the samples are negative. Consequently, the hypothesis is correct.)
- Договорът не е подписан и следователно не е валиден. (The contract has not been signed and is therefore not valid.)
- Искът следователно е неоснователен. (The claim is therefore unfounded.) It can also stand inside the sentence.
No commas. The Official Orthographic Dictionary (2012, § 81.2) lists следователно among words that are used only as comment words and are therefore not set off by commas: Следователно не би трябвало да има грешка.
2. При това: adding a stronger point. It adds a fact that goes further than the first one. It often follows и or a comma:
- Тя работи много и при това никога не се оплаква. (She works a lot, and on top of that she never complains.)
- Апартаментът е голям, при това на много добро място. (The flat is large, and in a very good location too.)
Do not confuse it with след това (after that), which is about time order.
3. Related formal connectors. освен това (besides), тоест (that is), а именно (namely) and вследствие на това (as a result; see в резултат на/вследствие на). In everyday conversation the usual words are затова and освен това.
Examples (6)
- Всички проби са отрицателни. Следователно хипотезата е вярна.
All the samples are negative. Consequently, the hypothesis is correct.
- Договорът не е подписан и следователно не е валиден.
The contract has not been signed and is therefore not valid.
- Ищецът не е представил доказателства. Искът следователно е неоснователен.
The claimant has not presented evidence. The claim is therefore unfounded.
Следователно can stand inside the sentence, still without commas.
- Работата е трудна и при това зле платена.
The work is hard and badly paid at that.
- Тя работи много и при това никога не се оплаква.
She works a lot, and on top of that she never complains.
- Апартаментът е голям, при това на много добро място.
The flat is large, and in a very good location too.
Common Mistakes
Putting a comma after следователно, as with English therefore.
Следователно, хипотезата е вярна.Следователно хипотезата е вярна.The official spelling rules treat следователно as a word that is not set off by commas, wherever it stands in the sentence.
Using следователно to mean "after that".
Закусих и следователно излязох.Закусих и след това излязох.Следователно expresses a logical consequence, not time order. For "then" or "after that" use след това or после.
Confusing при това with след това.
Първо вечеряхме, при това гледахме филм.Първо вечеряхме, след това гледахме филм.При това adds a further point about the same thing (moreover). To say what happened next, use след това.
How It Connects
Learn This First
Formal connectors follow затова.
Related Patterns
- така чеSo with Така Че
Another way to link a cause to its result.
Level 4 - в резултат на/вследствие наAs a Result of
Formal phrases that name a cause, often used alongside следователно.
Level 5 - а именноNamely
Another formal connector; it specifies rather than concludes.
Level 6 - освен чеBesides the Fact That
Like при това, it adds a further fact to what has been said.
Level 5 - Nominal Style
The formal style in which these connectors are most at home.
Level 5
Words in This Pattern
Practice следователно / при това in Bubblegum
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