en cambio/por el contrario

In Contrast

Level 5

Use 'en cambio' or 'por el contrario' to introduce a contrasting idea. 'En cambio' means 'on the other hand' or 'instead,' while 'por el contrario' means 'on the contrary'.

How It Works

Contrasting Situations
Yo prefiero el té. Mi hermano, en cambio, siempre toma café contrasts preferences. Different subjects are common, but not required: Antes caminaba poco; ahora, en cambio, camino cada día compares the same person at different times.

An Opposite Point
No estoy cansado. Por el contrario, tengo mucha energía corrects a possible inference. Por el contrario is not limited to refutation: El primer trayecto fue tranquilo; el segundo, por el contrario, resultó agotador simply contrasts two journeys.

Overlap And Choice
The two expressions can overlap in a parallel contrast. Sin embargo is particularly natural when the second statement defeats an expectation: Estudié mucho; sin embargo, no aprobé. En cambio can sometimes present a broader contrast, so it is misleading to label every same-subject use ungrammatical.

Adverbial Connectors
These phrases are connectors, rather than conjunctions with exactly the syntax of pero. They can occur after a sentence boundary or inside the following clause.

Punctuation
When used as parenthetical connectors, separate them with commas: Por el contrario, todo salió bien; Mi hermano, en cambio, se quedó. A period or semicolon can separate the complete statements.

Examples (4)

  1. A mí me encanta el calor. Mi esposa, en cambio, prefiere el frío.

    I love the heat. My wife, on the other hand, prefers the cold.

    Word by Word: To me I love the heat. My wife, in contrast, prefers the cold.

    Here, 'en cambio' contrasts the preferences of two different people ('I' and 'my wife').

  2. En el norte del país llueve mucho. En el sur, en cambio, el clima es muy seco.

    In the north of the country, it rains a lot. In the south, in contrast, the climate is very dry.

    Word by Word: In the north of the country it rains a lot. In the south, in contrast, the climate is very dry.

  3. No creo que el examen fuera difícil. Por el contrario, me pareció bastante fácil.

    I don't think the exam was difficult. On the contrary, I found it quite easy.

    Word by Word: Not I believe that the exam was difficult. On the contrary, to me it seemed quite easy.

    'Por el contrario' is used here to directly refute the implied idea that the exam was difficult.

  4. Algunos piensan que es antipático; por el contrario, es una persona muy amable.

    Some people think he's unfriendly; on the contrary, he is a very kind person.

    Word by Word: Some think that he is unfriendly; on the contrary, he is a person very kind.

Common Mistakes

  • Using contra in place of contrario in this fixed connector.

    No estoy cansado. Por el contra, tengo mucha energía.
    No estoy cansado. Por el contrario, tengo mucha energía.

    The connector is por el contrario. En contra is a different expression. A preference for one contrast connector over another is not automatically a grammatical error.

How It Connects

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

en cambio/por el contrarioLevel 5In Contrast

Learn This First

To use 'en cambio' and 'por el contrario', you need to be comfortable connecting two independent clauses or ideas. You should already know basic contrastive words like 'pero' and 'sin embargo', as well as the basic prepositions 'en' and 'por' which form the basis of these fixed expressions.

Words in This Pattern

en cambiopor el contrario