Pero/sino/no solo...sino

Pero/sino/no solo...sino

• When but follows a negation and means something like "but on the contrary" or "but rather," use sino rather than pero:
No use "pero" sino "sino". No es tonto, sino demasiado inteligente.
Don't use pero but sino. He is not stupid, but too intelligent.
• If "but on the contrary" separates two conjugated verbs, sino que must be used:
No grito, sino que hablo claramente. I am not shouting but (rather) speaking clearly.
• When the second phrase does not exclude the first, pero is used:
No es inteligente, pero sabe mucho. He is not intelligent, but he does know a lot.
Note that a comma is generally used before (not after) pero or sino.

• The Spanish equivalent of "not only...but (also)" is no solo...sino (también), and que must be used when sino introduces a clause with a conjugated verb. Observe some optional variations of this construction in the following examples:
El sistema no solo es eficaz, sino también agradable.
The system is not only efficient, but also nice.
No solamente oyeron música, sino que además bailaron.
Not only did they listen to music, but they also danced.
No querían únicamente la independencia política, sino también la económica.
They wanted, not just political independence, but also economic independence.
Manejo automóvil no sólo por comodidad, sino por necesidad.
I drive a car not only for comfort, but also out of necessity.
• También and además can be used interchangeably for this construction, and both of them can be omitted. The adverbs solo, solamente and únicamente are also synonyms in this context.
• The adverb solo –only– takes on a written accent when the context does not provide enough clues to avoid confusion with the adjective solo –alone–, as in the fourth example:
Manejo solo / sólo por necesidad. I drive alone / only out of necessity.