totuși / cu toate acestea

Adversative Connectors

Level 5

Totuși (nevertheless/still) and cu toate acestea (nonetheless/despite all this) are connectors used to introduce a surprising or counter-intuitive fact that remains true despite a previous statement.

How It Works

In Romanian, these connectors help you build complex arguments by linking two independent ideas.

1. Totuși (Nevertheless / Still)
This is the most versatile connector. Because it can function as an adverb or a conjunction, it has flexible placement, but it cannot split an auxiliary verb from a past participle (e.g., nu a totuși venit is incorrect).

  • Initial: Totuși, nu a venit. (Nevertheless, he didn't come.)
  • Medial: Nu a venit totuși. (He still didn't come.)
  • Correlative: Often used in the main clause after deși (e.g., Deși e târziu, totuși plecăm.).

2. Cu toate acestea (Despite all this)
This is an adverbial locution. It is more formal and usually appears at the beginning of a sentence or after a semicolon to refer back to a whole situation described previously. It is more emphatic than totuși.

3. Syntax and Punctuation
Unlike subordinators like deși, these connect independent sentences. A comma commonly sets off a detached initial cu toate acestea. For totuși, a comma is common but optional when it functions as a conjunction.

Examples (5)

  1. Echipa a pierdut meciul, a jucat totuși foarte bine.

    The team lost the match; they played very well, nevertheless.

    Word by Word: Team-the has lost match-the, has played nevertheless very well.

    Here, 'totuși' is placed after the verb phrase to emphasize the quality of play despite the loss.

  2. Rezultatele sunt slabe. Cu toate acestea, nu vom renunța.

    The results are weak. Despite all this, we will not give up.

    Word by Word: Results-the are weak. With all these, not will-we give-up.

    'Cu toate acestea' is an adverbial locution used at the start of the sentence for a formal, emphatic contrast.

  3. Deși era foarte obosit, totuși a terminat proiectul.

    Although he was very tired, he still finished the project.

    Word by Word: Although was very tired, nevertheless has finished project-the.

    This shows the common correlation between deși and 'totuși' for added emphasis.

  4. Nu am avut mult timp, am reușit totuși să vizitez muzeul.

    I didn't have much time; I still managed to visit the museum.

    Word by Word: Not I-have had much time, I-have managed nevertheless to visit museum-the.

    This shows the concessive nature: the lack of time didn't prevent the visit.

  5. Era frig, dar totuși am ieșit la plimbare.

    It was cold, but I still went out for a walk.

    Word by Word: Was cold, but nevertheless I-have gone-out to walk.

    You can combine 'dar' (but) with 'totuși' for extra emphasis, and combinations with însă can also occur; avoid treating rhetorical emphasis as a categorical grammar error.

Common Mistakes

  • Splitting an auxiliary from its participle with totuși.

    Nu a totuși venit.
    Totuși, nu a venit.

    Keep the compound verb together here. Totuși can appear before or after the verb group, not in this position between a and venit.

How It Connects

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

totuși / cu toate acesteaLevel 5Adversative Connectors

Learn This First

Recognize concession before expressing it across independent clauses. Recognize the demonstrative form in cu toate acestea.

Words in This Pattern

totuși