Grammar - CONJUNCTIONS

CONJUNCTIONS

 

According to our textbook*, "A CONJUNCTION is a word used to connect words, phrases, or sentences.  There are three kinds of conjunctions:

COORDINATING CONJUNCTIONS

CORRELATIVE CONJUNCTIONS

SUBORDINATING CONJUNCTIONS.”

 -- The Language of Literature: American Literature (2006), page 1314

 

COORDINATING CONJUCTIONS connect words or word groups that have the same function in a sentence:

and / but / or / for / so / yet / nor

 

Coordinating conjunctions can join nouns, pronouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, prepositional phrases, and clauses in a sentence. Examples:

 

2 noun objects =  I have many friends but few enemies.

2 prepositional phrases = We ran out the door and into the street.

2 predicates (with predicate adj) = They are pleasant yet seem aloof.

2 clauses = We have to go now or we will be late.

 

CORRELATIVE CONJUNCTIONS are similar to coordinating conjunctions.  However, correlative conjunctions are always used in pairs. Examples:

 

Both Tom and Mary are planning to go.

Either Tom or Mary is planning to leave.

Neither Tom nor Mary is planning to eat the food.

Whether Tom or Mary will eat the food is unknown.

Not only Tom but also Mary is planning to come.

 

SUBORDINATING CONJUNCTIONS introduce subordinate clauses—clauses that cannot stand by themselves as complete sentences.  Subordinate clauses relate to the rest of the sentence.  The relationships include time, manner, place, cause, comparison, condition, and purpose.  Examples:

 

TIME = after / as / as long as / as soon as / before / since / until / when / whenever / while

MANNER = as / as if

PLACE = where / wherever

CAUSE = because / since

COMPARISON = as / as much as / than

CONDITION = although /as long as / even if / even though / if / provided that / though / unless / while / in order that / so that / that

EXAMPLE = Walt Whitman was a man of the people, although many did not appreciate his poems.

 

CONJUNCTIVE ADVERBS are used to connect clauses that can stand by themselves as sentences.  Examples:

also / besides / finally / however / moreover / nevertheless / otherwise / then

 

EXAMPLE:  She loved the fall; however, she also enjoyed winter.

 

-------------------------

* The information on this page was adapted from literature textbook:  Applebee, Arthur, Andrea B. Bermudez, et.al. (2006).  The Language of Literature: American Literature, Teacher's Edition. Evanston, IL: McDougal-Littell Inc., p. 1315.    For a more detailed explanation and exercises, see the text.