Coordinating conjunctions | Subordinating conjunctions

Subordinating conjunctions join dependent (subordinate) clauses to main clauses. You can recognize a dependent clause by the fact that it cannot stand alone - its meaning is incomplete without the main clause.
 

1. Dije que estoy ocupado. - I said that I am busy.

The main clause is I said. What did I say? That I am busy. "I am busy" is incomplete without "I said." I might not in fact be busy, but I said that I was.
 

The main clause is I can't go. Why can't I go? Because I don't have any money. The idea here is not that I don't want to go, but the fact that I can't go since I don't have any money.
 

The main clause is I will tell you. When will I tell you? When I see you. So "I will tell you" is incomplete without the juxtaposition "when I see you."

  
Some common Spanish subordinating conjunctions:

a condición de que	on the condition that
a fin de que	so that
a menos que	unless
antes (de) que	before
aunque	even though
bien que	even though
como	as, since
con tal (de) que	provided that, as long as
cuando	when
en caso de que	in case
en vista de que	in view of the fact htat
hasta que	until
mientras que	provided that, as long as
para que	so that
por miedo de que	for fear that
porque	because
pues	for, because
puesto que	since
que	that
si	if
sin que	without
siempre que	provided that, as long as
tan pronto como	as soon as
ya que	since

Note that many of these conjunctions must be followed by the subjunctive.
 

Coordinating Conjunctions

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