Basic Sentence Conjunctions

This page explains four common sentence conjunctions:

その上 – On top of that. Must both be good or both bad. 
それで – “because of that” “therefore” AそれでB – A caused B
それに – And. The sentences must be related somehow. 
それから – And then

These words go at the start of a sentence following another sentence.

その上

On top of that/In addition to

その上 (そのうえ) means “on top of that“.
Both sentences must be the same type of thing. IE, both good or both bad. You can’t mix and match.

Examples

• 彼は村一のお金もち。その上イケメンだ。
  He’s the richest person in the village. On top of that, he’s handsome.
  
  
• 彼女は誰よりも優しい。その上、とてもかわいい
  She’s nicer than anyone. On top of that, she’s very cute. 

それで

Because of that

それで means “because of that” or “by that” “then”. It suggests causation.

Examples

• 彼はかいぶつを倒した。それで町がまた平和になった.
   He slayed the monster. Because of that, the village became peaceful again.
  
  
• 彼は酒をたくさん飲んだ。それでひみつを話した。
  He drank a lot of alcohol. Because of that, he talked about the secret.
  
  

それに

And

それに basically means “and”. It is typically used to describe qualities of something like そのうえ. There must be a logical relation between the sentences though. それに tends to place emphasis on the qualities being described. 

Examples

• そのレストランの料理はすっごくまずかった。それに高かった。
  That restaurants food was terrible. And it was expensive.
  
  
• このジムは近い。それに安い
  This gym is close. And its cheap. 
  
  

それから

And then

それから means “and then”. It just describes something happening next sequentially.

Examples

• 彼女はバットを置いて、いすにすわった。それから机から本をだした。
  She put the bat down and sat in a chair. Then she took a book out from the desk.
  
  
• 彼は家に帰って食べた。それからかじをした。
  He returned home and ate. Then he did chores.