Conjunction

Conjunction

There are different types of conjunctions: coordinating, subordinating and correlative conjunctions.

Coordinating Conjunctions

The most common, and simplest, conjunction is the coordinating conjunctions. These join words, phrases and clauses as a simple link, as equal grammatical components.

§  Cats and dogs are animals. (connecting two words)

§  We wanted to walk in the forest or on the hill. (connecting two phrases)

§  They went to the park and had a picnic. (connecting two clauses)

Coordinating conjunctions include and, or, for, so, but, yet and nor. These can create relationships that show, for example, a contrast, a decision, or consequences, but in all cases the they connect words, phrases and clauses that do not have a grammatical impact on each other.

§  I wanted to go, but decided to stay. (contrast)

§  She did not know whether to go left or right. (decision)

§  It started raining, so he went home. (consequence)

Coordinating conjunctions do not require a comma before them when connecting single words or ideas, but require a comma when listing more than one word, phrase or clause.

§  They ate cheese, biscuits and fruit for desert.

They also usually require a comma when connecting two independent clauses.

§  I liked the car, but I could not afford to buy it.

Subordinating Conjunctions

Subordinating conjunctions connect an independent clause to a dependent clause. They show consequences, connecting two ideas – and are different from coordinating conjunctions because they occur in sentences where the dependent clause would not work on its own.

§  They played football while it was sunny.

Here, it was sunny is a dependent clause; it is a grammatically complete idea but it does not really make sense on its own (leading you to ask what was sunny, or when was it sunny, without the independent clause to provide context).

Subordinating clauses can demonstrate a wide variety of relationships between two clauses. They can also come at the beginning of clauses, as well as connecting clauses in the middle.

§  We were happy because our team won.

§  Because our team won, we were happy.

Common subordinating conjunctions include:

§  after

§  although

§  as

§  as far as

§  as if

§  as soon as

§  because

§  before

§  even if

§  how

§  if

§  in case

§  in that

§  no matter how

§  now that

§  once

§  provided

§  since

§  so that

§  supposing

§  though

§  unless

§  until

§  when

§  wherever

§  whether

§  while

§  while

Correlative Conjunction

Correlative conjunctions are pairs of conjunctions that connect equal sentence parts in specific ways. These can connect or contrast ideas. An example that I have previously discussed in detail is not only…but also.

§  This is not only fun, but also interesting.

Other examples include:

§  both… and

§  either… or

§  neither… nor

§  not only… but also

§  so… as

§  whether… or

These create specific relationships between words that are generally used for emphasis. For example, we could connect two ideas simply with and, but it emphasises that the two ideas share a certain quality if we say both… and.

§  My mother and sister were ill.

§  Both my mother and sister were ill.

In the second sentence, this may emphasise that for both people to be ill is surprising or alarming. The first sentence is more of a dry statement of fact.

Conjunctive Adverbs

Clauses and phrases can also be connected with certain adverbs which connect ideas. These can be used in the same way as conjunctions, but are not specifically conjunctions. They can be single adverbs or adverb phrases.

§  He bought two oranges in addition to the bag of grapes.

§  We finished watching the film, although no one understood it.

These are usually used in the form of subordinating conjunctions, although they can also introduce new sentences (following a related sentence). As such they can come at the beginning or middle of a sentence.

§  I like old books, for example The Illiad.

§  I like old books. For example, The Illiad is very good.

Examples of more conjunctive adverbs include:

§  after all

§  as a result

§  consequently

§  finally

§  for example

§  furthermore

§  hence

§  however

§  in addition

§  in fact

§  incidentally

§  indeed

§  instead

§  likewise

§  meanwhile

§  on the contrary

§  on the other hand

§  otherwise

§  still

§  therefore

§  thus

Examples of Subordinating Conjunctions

In the following examples, the subordinating conjunctions are in bold for easy identification:

1.      As Sherri blew out the candles atop her birthday cake, she caught her hair on fire.

2.      Sara begins to sneeze whenever she opens the window to get a breath of fresh air.

3.      When the doorbell rang, my dog Skeeter barked loudly.

Examples of Coordinating Conjunctions

In the following examples, the coordinating conjunctions have been italicized for easy identification.

1.      You can eat your cake with a spoon or fork.

2.      My dog enjoys being bathed but hates getting his nails trimmed.

3.      Bill refuses to eat peas, nor will he touch carrots.

4.      I hate to waste a drop of gas, for it is very expensive these days.

Examples of Correlative Conjunctions

In the following examples, the correlative conjunctions have been italicized for easy identification.

1.      She is both intelligent and beautiful.

2.      I will either go for a hike or stay home and watch TV.

3.      Jerry is neither rich nor famous.

4.      He is not only intelligent, but also very funny.

5.      Would you rather go shopping or spend the day at the beach?

 Exercise:

Join each pair of the following sentences by means of a suitable conjunction.

1. James smokes. His brother does not smoke.

2. Alice hasn’t come. Mary hasn’t come.

3. She speaks English. She speaks Spanish.

4. I like him. He is very sincere.

5. He did not win. He worked hard.

6. She is ill. She is cheerful.

7. We decided to go out. It was raining.

8. The piper played. The children danced.

9. James works hard. His brother is lazy.

10. I went to the shop. I bought some vegetables.

11. You must start at once. You will be late.

12. He must be tired. He has been working since morning.

Answers

1. John smokes but his brother doesn’t.

2. Neither Alice nor Mary has come.

3. She speaks English as well as Spanish. OR She speaks English and Spanish.

4. I like him because he is very sincere.

5. Though he worked hard, he did not win.

6. She is ill but she is cheerful.

7. Though it was raining we decided to go out.

8. The piper played and the children danced.

9. James works hard whereas his brother is lazy.

10. I went to the shop and bought some vegetables.

11. You must start at once; otherwise you will be late.

12. He must be tired because he has been working since morning.

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