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Al presionar el pulsador, ella no eligió esta categoría, sino otra.

Al presionar el pulsador, ella no eligió esta categoría, sino otra.
Upon pressing the buzzer, she didn't choose this category, but rather another.
From Lesson 400:Corrective contrast (no... sino / no... más que)·Spanish (Latin America)

Questions & Answers about Al presionar el pulsador, ella no eligió esta categoría, sino otra.

Why is sino used here instead of pero?
In this sentence, sino creates a corrective contrast. Because the first half is negative (no eligió esta categoría), we use sino to introduce the direct correction (otra). We use sino when we are replacing a rejected idea with the actual one, whereas pero just adds contrasting information.
Why do we use the infinitive presionar instead of a conjugated verb?
The structure al followed by an infinitive is a very common way to express 'upon doing something' or 'at the moment of doing something'. Here, al presionar translates perfectly to 'upon pressing'.
What kind of button is a pulsador?
A pulsador is specifically a push-button. In the context of a game show or trivia competition, which this sentence strongly implies, it is the exact word used for the buzzer that contestants press to answer.
Why does the sentence end with just otra instead of una otra for 'another'?
The Spanish word otro or otra inherently means 'another' as well as 'other'. Adding una before it is a common habit for English speakers translating literally, but Spanish never puts un or una directly in front of otro.

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