Drawing conclusions (conque)

Drawing conclusions with conque

When you catch someone in the act or piece together a situation, you can use the conjunction conque (so / so then) to draw a conclusion. It is often used to confront someone, express surprise, or show mild reproach—like when you finally catch the neighborhood raccoon in your garbage.

Since you are stating a fact that you have just observed or deduced, conque is usually followed by verbs in the indicative mood.

So, you are the raccoon that prowls around my house.
Conque tú eres el mapache que merodea por mi casa.
So you like to rummage in the garbage, scoundrel!
¡Conque te gusta escarbar en la basura, sinvergüenza!
So you are stealthy, but they caught you.
Conque eres sigiloso, pero te atraparon.

Commands with conque

You can also use conque directly before a command (the imperative mood). This effectively means "So, because of this situation I just realized, you need to do this."

So stop rummaging in the container right now!
¡Conque deja de escarbar en el contenedor ahora mismo!
So prowl somewhere else, scoundrel!
¡Conque merodea en otro lugar, sinvergüenza!