There are eight parts of speech, one of which is the conjunction; and as the word “conjunction” implies, this part of speech acts as a “connector,” linking words, phrases, and clauses. Moreover, there are four categories of conjunctions, and each category establishes a specific relationship between items in a sentence.
Coordinating Conjunctions
The seven coordinating conjunctions are for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so; and they’re used to connect words, clauses, or phrases of equal grammatical weight. For example, they might be used to connect two or more nouns, verbal phrases, independent clauses, prepositional phrases, etc. They also establish certain relationships:
- And = means addition
- Or = establishes positive choice
- But = means contrast
- Nor = establishes negative choice
- Yet = shows contrast
- So = shows results
- For = shows reason
Sample Sentences
- Tom and Sue got married on April Fools Day. (Two nouns)
- Tom had written the first draft of his novel but thrown it in the trash. (Two verbs)
- Tom wanted to devote all his time to writing, so Sue worked two full-time jobs. (Two clauses)
- Watching Sue splash through the rain to her car, Tom said, “Now, to watch football or not to watch football, that is the question.” (Two infinitive phrases)
- Tom jotted down plot ideas on his shirtsleeves, on the throw pillows, and on the arms of the sofa. (Three prepositional phrases)
Correlative Conjunctions
Correlative conjunctions work together in pairs, and there are four of these conjunctive duos: either—or, neither—nor, both—and, not only—but also.
Sample Sentences
- Sue threatened, “Either you finish that stupid novel, or I’m going to file for divorce.” (Either Tom will do what Sue asks or she will do what she threatens)
- Neither Tom’s parents nor his siblings think Tom will ever write a bestseller. (Poor Tom, no one in his immediate family thinks he will succeed.)
- Tom decided that not only must he finish his novel but also stop watching recorded football games seven days a week. (Both steps are necessary in order for Tom to save his marriage.)
- Turning off the television with a sigh, Tom said, “This is both my most mature decision and my darkest hour.” (The two decisions are equal in significance, at least in Tom’s opinion)
Subordinating Conjunctions
Subordinating conjunctions are used to make one clause subordinate to (or dependent upon) another clause. For clarification, a clause is a group of words containing a subject, which may be understood, for example, “you,” and a verb, but not all clauses can stand alone as sentences because some are dependent upon other clauses to give them full meaning.
Although there are far too many subordinating conjunctions to list them all within the context of this article, some of the more commonly used include the following:
- After
- Although
- As
- As if
- As though
- Because
- Before
- Even though
- If
- Unless
- Until
- While
- Where
- When
Sample Sentences
- Because he had failed to save a backup copy, Tom lost all 1,000 pages of his novel when his computer crashed. (“Because” makes the first clause dependent upon the second clause, but “when” makes the last clause also dependent upon the second clause. The only independent clause is the second one: Tom lost all 1,000 pages of his novel.)
- Sue told Tom that if he didn’t stop drinking beer, she was going to put him in rehab.” (“If” makes the first clause, which is “he didn’t stop drinking beer,” dependent upon the independent clause, which is “Sue told Tom that she was going to put him in rehab.)
- Even though Tom didn’t like the idea of rehab, he thought it would give him the opportunity to watch more football. (“Even though” makes the first clause dependent upon the second clauses.)
Conjunctive Adverbs
Although conjunctive adverbs can be used simply as adverbs, they can also be used as connectives to link two or more independent clauses and establish certain relationships between those clauses:
- Time = then, next
- Contrast = nevertheless, on the one hand, on the other hand, however, otherwise, notwithstanding
- Results = therefore, thus, consequently, subsequently, as a result
- Addition = also, furthermore, moreover, in addition, even more important, likewise, similarly, in like manner
- Illustration = for instance, for example, for one, in fact, first, second, third, indeed
Sample Sentences
- Tom decided to save his marriage; therefore, he promised Sue he would watch football only on the weekends.
- Sue put her hands on her hips and said, “You’d better mean it this time; otherwise, I’m going to leave and take your precious wide-screen TV with me.”
- After watching Sue storm from the room, Tom glanced furtively at the television; then he picked up the remote and pressed Play.
The important thing for writers to remember when it comes to the usage of conjunctions is that the conjunction selected must establish the correct relationship between items; otherwise, the point they are attempting to make within a sentence may be unclear to the reader. Plus, on a wider scale, when a writer fails to relate thoughts, the result is often a paragraph that is lacking in both unity and coherence.
 |
