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Conjunctions: For, And, Nor, But, Or, Yet, and So

Conjunctions are words that link words, phrases, or clauses together. There are three main types of conjunctions: coordinating conjunctions, correlative conjunctions, and subordinating conjunctions. Coordinating conjunctions join elements of equal grammatical rank, correlative conjunctions work in pairs, and subordinating conjunctions join independent and dependent clauses and can indicate cause-and-effect or contrasting relationships. Common examples of each type of conjunction are listed.

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65 views

Conjunctions: For, And, Nor, But, Or, Yet, and So

Conjunctions are words that link words, phrases, or clauses together. There are three main types of conjunctions: coordinating conjunctions, correlative conjunctions, and subordinating conjunctions. Coordinating conjunctions join elements of equal grammatical rank, correlative conjunctions work in pairs, and subordinating conjunctions join independent and dependent clauses and can indicate cause-and-effect or contrasting relationships. Common examples of each type of conjunction are listed.

Uploaded by

amgiunta
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Conjunctions

Conjunctions are words that link other words, phrases, or clauses together.

E.g.: I like cooking and eating, but I don’t like washing dishes afterward. Sophie is
clearly exhausted, yet she insists on dancing till dawn.

Conjunctions allow you to form complex, elegant sentences and avoid the
choppiness of multiple short sentences. Make sure that the phrases joined by
conjunctions are parallel (share the same structure).

I work quickly and am careful.

I work quickly and carefully.

Coordinating Conjunctions

Coordinating conjunctions allow you to join words, phrases, and clauses of


equal grammatical rank in a sentence. The most common coordinating
conjunctions are for, and, nor, but, or, yet, and so.

- I’d like pizza or a salad for lunch. We needed a place to concentrate, so we


packed up our things and went to the library. Jesse didn’t have much money, but
she got by.

Notice the use of the comma when a coordinating conjunction is joining two
independent clauses.
Correlative Conjunctions

Correlative conjunctions are pairs of conjunctions that work together. Some


examples are either/or, neither/nor, and not only/but also.

- Not only am I finished studying for English, but I’m also finished writing my
history essay. I am finished with both my English essay and my history essay.

Subordinating Conjunctions

Subordinating conjunctions join independent and dependent clauses. A


subordinating conjunction can signal a cause-and-effect relationship, a
contrast, or some other kind of relationship between the clauses. Common
subordinating conjunctions are because, since, as, although, though,
while, and whereas. Sometimes an adverb, such as until,
after, or before can function as a conjunction.

- I can stay out until the clock strikes twelve.

Here, the adverb until functions as a coordinating conjunction to connect two


ideas: I can stay out (the independent clause) and the clock strikes twelve (the
dependent clause). The independent clause could stand alone as a sentence;
the dependent clause depends on the independent clause to make sense.

The subordinating conjunction doesn’t need to go in the middle of the


sentence. It has to be part of the dependent clause, but the dependent clause
can come before the independent clause.

- Before he leaves, make sure his room is clean.


If the dependent clause comes first, use a comma before the independent
clause.

- I drank a glass of water because I was thirsty. Because I was thirsty, I drank a
glass of water.

List of Conjunctions

Coordinating Conjunctions

for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so

Correlative Conjunctions

both/and, either/or, neither/nor, not only/but, whether/or

Some Subordinating Conjunctions

after, although, as, as if, as long as, as much as, as soon as, as though,
because, before, by the time, even if, even though, if, in order that, in case, in
the event that, lest , now that, once, only, only if, provided that, since, so,
supposing, that, than, though, till, unless, until, when, whenever, where,
whereas, wherever, whether or not, while

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