Conjunctions

Conjunctions connect two words or sentences together, creating better flow.

For Example:

 “I put my dirty dishes in the sink. I cleaned them. Mom will be happy.”

 →“I put my dirty dishes in the sink and cleaned them, so Mom will be happy.”

Conjunctions are broken down into the following three categories:

1. Coordinating Conjunctions – Join two words or phrases of equal importance

 For

 And

 Nor

 But

 Or

 Yet

 Soon

For Example:

 “He does not like milk. He does not like cereal.”

 →“He does not like milk or cereal.”

 “She scored 100% on the last test. I scored 80% on mine.”

 →“She scored 100% on the last test, but I only scored 80%.”

1. Subordinating Conjunctions – Join an independent clause with a dependent clause to

give meaning and relevance to the main clause, but they always come before the
dependent clause
  Although

 As

 Because

 Since

 While

 Before

 Once

 Though

 Until

 Whether

For Example:

 “I like to play baseball.” (Independent clause) “It is fun.” (Dependent clause)

 →“I like to play baseball because it is fun.”

 “The ground is wet.” (Independent Clause) “It rained.” (Dependent clause)

 →“The ground is wet since it rained.”

 “She rang the doorbell.” (Independent clause) “I was on the phone.” (Dependent
clause)

 →“She rang the doorbell while I was on the phone.”

1. Correlative Conjunctions – pairs of conjunctions used to link two or more words of

equal importance within a sentence.

 Both/and
  Either/or

 Neither/nor

 Not only/but also

 Whether/or

For Example:

 “Both my mom and my dad are going away this weekend.”

 “You should either start trying or just give up.”

 “They neither behave in class nor do they do their homework.”

 “Not only does he speak Chinese but he also speaks Spanish and English.”

 “It doesn’t matter whether you win or not, just have fun.”