CONJUNCTIONS

DEFINITIONS & EXAMPLES

A conjunction is a part of speech that joins words, phrases, and clauses. Conjunctions are like bridges that connect ideas.

Examples of conjunctions are: and, or, but, although.

Sentence Examples of Conjunctions:

(1) Boss and his employees work together.

(2) Joshua or John can take a free kick.

(3) I will go but you will stay.

(4) I can't ride a bicycle, so I have to walk on foot.

(5) I dont know whether he's coming to a party or he's staying home.

(6) Because he can't ride a bicycle, he has to walk on foot.

(7) He can't get a ride; therefore, he has to stay home.

WHAT CONJUNCTIONS CAN CONNECT?

In English, conjunctions can connect various items as follows:

(1) Conjunctions can connect words:

Examples:

(i) Water or juice.

(i) Sauda and Jessica

(2) Conjunctions can connect phrases:

Examples:

(i) The people in the bus and the people in the boat are making noise.

(ii) She likes the best music and the best musicians.

(3) Conjunctions can connect clauses:

Examples:

(i) You can go home now or you can wait until we finish the party.

(ii) There are seats outside but some people don’t like sitting outside.

(4) Conjunctions can connect sentences:

Examples:

(i) My father was not a teacher. However, he liked teaching more than any other job.

(ii) She likes fruits. But she doesn't like bananas.

TYPES OF CONJUNCTIONS

There are four (04) types of conjunctions in English language. They are:

Types of Conjunctions in summary:

(1) Coordinating conjunctions (or, and, but)

(3) Subordinating conjunctions (since, because, when)

(3) Correlative conjunctions (and/or, not only/but also)

(4) Conjunctives (however, therefore)

HERE IS A CLOSER LOOK AT EACH TYPE OF CONJUNCTIONS

1. COORDINATING CONJUNCTIONS

Coordinating conjunctions are the conjunctions that link words, phrases or sentences with equivalent grammatical elements or ideas with the same weight (E.g: nouns with nouns or clauses with clauses). Coordinating conjunctions are single words:

Examples of conjunctions: and, but, or, so.

Examples of sentences:

(1) (And) He is cooking and I am washing the dishes.

(2) (Or) He said he will come or he will postpone.

(3) (So) Yesterday I worked hard on the farm, so I was tired the next day.

(4) (And) She is editing and proofreading my essay.

(5) (Or) I want money or a ticket for the game.

(6) (And) We like going to the beach and camping.

(7) I can drive you to the beach, but not to the party.

LIST OF COORDINATING CONJUNCTIONS

Some people use the mnemonic FANBOYS to remember the common seven coordinating conjunctions in English language:

for

and

nor

but

yet

Note: Coordinating conjunctions are not many in English. They are fixed.

2. SUBORDINATING CONJUNCTIONS

Subordinating conjunctions are conjunctions that unite ideas in a complex sentence. These kinds of conjunctions link dependent clauses (incomplete thoughts) to independent clauses (complete thoughts).

Subordinating conjunction is made up by one or more words.

Examples: although, as soon as, in case, unless, while.

Examples of sentences:

(1) (Unless) Unless we give him a ride, he won't be able to come early.

(2) (Although) Although we underestimated him, he won the game.

(3) (In case) Take this money in case you want to buy something.

(4) [subordinate clause]After we had lost the match, [main clause] coach told us to rest.

(5) [main clause]Everyone enjoyed the match [subordinate clause] although we didn't win.

(6) [subordinate clause]Before we left home, [main clause]we had something to eat.

(7) (As long as) As long as we are all here, we can start the meeting.

(8) (Provided that) Provided that he studies hard, he will pass exams. (formal)

(9) (Because) Because it was raining, we had to cancel our journey.

(10) (After) After leaving the window open last night, my room was a mess.

(11) (Unless) Unless I study hard, I'll never become a pilot.

LIST OF SOME SUBORDINATING CONJUNCTIONS:

after
although
as soon as
because
before
by the time
in case
now that
since
unless
when
whether or not
while
as if
even though
so that
in spite of
despite
if
such that
though

Note: Unlike coordinating conjunctions which are fixed in numbers, there are plenty of subordinating conjunctions in English language.

A COMMON MNEMONIC FOR SUBORDINATING CONJUNCTIONS

Here is an interesting mnemonic to help you remember subordinating conjunctions easily:

ON A WHITE BUS:

O = once, only if

N = now that

A = as, although, after

W = while, when, whereas, whenever, wherever, whether

H = how

I = if, in case, in order to, in the event that

T = though

E = even if, even though

B = because, before

U = unless, until

S = so, so that, since, supposing.

3. CORRELATIVE CONJUNCTIONS

Correlative conjunctions are conjunctions which link or connect grammatical elements of similar importance. These conjunctions work in pairs.

Examples: either/or, both/and, not only/but also, as/as.

Examples of sentences:

(1) (As....as) She is as beautiful as her mother.

(2) (Not only.......but also.....) I did not only pass the exam, but also I got 100%.

(3) (As.......as....) The box is as tall as it is wide.

(4) (Either......or....) You can either drink juice or soda.

(5) (Neither.......nor.....) Neither Lisa nor Helena had been to Ruvuma before.

(6) (Both.......and.....) Both you and I know what really happened.

LIST OF SOME CORRELATIVE CONJUNCTIONS:

Below are some of the most common pairs of correlative words:

either/or
neither/nor
not only/but also
as/as
both/and
whether/or
Such….that…
Scarcely….when….
No sooner…..than….
either/or
neither/nor
not only/but also

Note: This list is not exhaustive, except for the coordinating conjunctions. There are plenty of correlative conjunctions in English language.

4. CONJUNCTIVES

By definition, a conjunctive (n) is a word that serves to join words, phrases, clauses or sentences.

So, conjunctives are conjunctions used to join two independent clauses. Conjunctives also function as adverbs (Conjunctive adverbs), but they also aperform the same linking function as conjunctions.

A conjunctive is made up of one or more words.

Examples: after all, besides, nevertheless.

Examples of sentences:

(1) (However) She is beautiful; however, she did not win the beauty contest.

(2) (Therefore) We have lost the match; therefore, we need to focus on the next match.

(3) (Therefore) There is a heavy rain; therefore, we expect more floods.

(4) (Nevertheless) I never liked eating vegetables. Nevertheless, I ask my kids to eat them.

(5) We are happy to pay all expenses; after all, youre doing us a favor.

LIST OF SOME CONJUNCTIVES

Below are some frequently-used conjunctive adverbs:

Accordingly
after all
Also
besides
Before
consequently
Eventually
finally
Furthermore
however
Likewise
nevertheless
Meanwhile
Moreover
Otherwise
Still
then
therefore
Thus

Note: This list is not exhaustive, except for the coordinating conjunctions. There are plenty of Conjunctive conjunctions in English language.

REFERENCES

https://www.wordagents.com/types-of-conjunctions/

11-03022

https://www.crowdcontent.com/resources/writer/university/grammar/types-of-conjunctions/

11-03-2022

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