"And", "also", "what's more": joining sentences

それから and そして: what happened next

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それから is "after that": one thing is done, and then the next. It is the everyday word for the next step, polite or casual. そして is "and": it adds what happened next, or one more fact. You meet it in stories, essays, speeches and self-introductions, and far less in relaxed talk.

そして only says "and", so it can also join two facts that have no order. Opening sentence after sentence, though, it reads like a child's school composition. Two facts about one thing usually go in one sentence, joined with the て-form.

それから, それと and あと: one more thing

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When you order, shop or ask for things, それから brings in the next item. No time order is meant, so English says "also" or "and".

それと adds one more thing too. It is the "oh, and" of conversation, polite or casual, as if the thing had just come to mind. It never means "after that", and what it adds doesn't have to have anything to do with what came before.

In conversation, あと does the job of それと. For one more dish, any of the three will do.

それに: besides, a second reason

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それに is "besides", and the everyday word for it. You have made one point, and you add a second like it: another reason, another good thing, another problem. The new point often has も.

After し, それに sits inside one sentence; in conversation they often go together.

Where it goes wrong: それに

それに is not "and then": it adds a point, and doesn't say what happened next.

When the second point goes against the first, the word is でも, "but".

その上うえ, しかも and おまけに: three more ways to add a point

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その上うえ, しかも and おまけに all do the job of それに: they add a second good point, or a second bad one. その上うえ is それに for reviews, essays, speeches and careful conversation. With しかも, the second fact is the one that impresses or shocks.

しかも need not add a second fact. It can add the detail that makes the first one remarkable: "and … at that". それに and その上うえ can't.

しかも looks like しかし, "however", which goes against the first point. しかも adds to it.

おまけに is casual. Most often it adds one more thing to grumble about, and it stays out of reports and formal writing.

また and さらに: also, furthermore

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また and さらに add a point in notices, explanations and reports. それに argues for or against something; these two only say that there is more. また sets a second point beside the first: another feature, service or rule. さらに adds one on top of the first: a further cost, benefit or step. Most sentences take either.

Said to a friend, また as "also" sounds as if you were reading out a leaflet. People say それに.

Day to day, また is nearly always "again": また来きてください, "please come again". Before an adjective or a verb, さらに is "even more": さらに明あかるくなった, "it got even brighter".

なお: please note

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なお is the "please note" of notices and business email. The main message has been given, and なお adds a practical note to it. In everyday conversation it is hardly ever heard; people say それと.

Other ways to add something