A Brief Explanation of Conjunctions / Foreign English Teacher Grammar 外籍英文家教老師

A Brief Explanation of Conjunctions

A conjunction is a word that links words, phrases, or clauses. There are three types of conjunctions: coordinating conjunctions, correlative conjunctions, and subordinating conjunctions.

Coordinating conjunctions may join single words, or they may join groups of words, but they must always join similar elements: e.g. subject + subject, verb phrase + verb phrase and sentence + sentence. When a coordinating conjunction is used to join elements, the element becomes a compound element.

Correlative conjunctions also connect sentence elements of the same kind: e.g. subject + subject, verb phrase + verb phrase and sentence + sentence. However, unlike coordinating conjunctions, correlative conjunctions are always used in pairs.

Subordinating conjunctions, the largest class of conjunctions, connect subordinate clauses to a main clause: e.g. subordinate verb phrase + main verb phrase and subordinate sentence + main sentence. These conjunctions are adverbs used as conjunctions.

The following tables show examples of the various types of conjunctions and some sample sentences using the conjunctions. Since coordinating conjunctions and correlative conjunctions are closed sets of words, all are included in the list. Subordinating conjunctions are a larger class of words; therefore, only a few of the more common ones are included in this list.

Coordinating Conjunctions

	F	A	N	B	O	Y	S
	for	and	nor	but	or	yet	so

An easy way to remember these six conjunctions is to think of the word FANBOYS. Each of the letters in this somewhat unlikely word is the first letter of one of the coordinating conjunctions. Remember, when using a conjunction to join two sentences, use a comma before the conjunction.

Examples and Sentences Using Coordinating Conjunctions

Conjunction	What is Linked	Sample Sentences
and	noun phrase + noun phrase	We have tickets for the movie theater, and the roller coaster.
but	sentence + sentence	I like coffee, but she likes tea.
or	verb + verb	Have you seen, or heard, the fireworks?
so	sentence + sentence	I wanted to sit in the front of the plane, so I ordered my tickets early.

CORRELATIVE CONJUNCTIONS

both...and

not only...but also

either...or

neither...nor

whether...or

Remember, correlative conjunctions are always used in pairs. They join similar elements. When joining singular and plural subjects, the subject closest to the verb determines whether the verb is singular or plural.

Examples and Sentences Using Correlative Conjunctions

Conjunction	What is Linked	Sample Sentences
both...and	subject + subject	Both my sister and my brother are tall.
either...or	noun + noun	They will either watch TV or go swimming.
neither...nor	subject + subject	Neither Nina nor Cindy like tea.
not only...but also	sentence + sentence	Not only does Sue like to play golf, but she also likes to watch it on TV.

Subordinating Conjunctions

	Time	Cause & Effect	Opposition	Condition
	after	because	although	if
	before	since	though	unless
	when	now that	even though	only if
	while	as	whereas	whether or not
	since	in order that	while	even if
	until	so		in case (that)

Subordinating conjunctions, (subordinators) are most important in creating subordinating clauses. These adverbs that act like conjunctions are placed at the front of the clause. The adverbial clause can come either before or after the main clause. Subordinators are usually a single word, but there are also a number of multi-word subordinators that function like a single subordinating conjunction. They can be classified according to their use in regard to time, cause and effect, opposition, or condition. Remember to put a comma at the end of the adverbial phrase when it precedes the main clause.

Examples and Sentences Using Subordinating Conjunctions

Conjunction	Sample Sentences
after	We are going out to eat after we finish taking the test.
since	Since we have lived in Taichung, we have gone to every exhibit at the Taichung Art Museum.
while	While I was waiting in line to buy movie tickets, I ate my snack.
although	Although the line was long and I had to wait over two hours, the movie was well worth it.
even if	Even if you have already bought your ticket, you will still need to wait in line.
because	I love action movies because they are very exciting.

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Foreign English Teacher Grammar 外籍英文家教老師