What Are Conjunctions?

Conjunctions are used to join words or groups of words together. The most common
ones are and, or, and but. (There are many others.)

Read more about conjunctions in the glossary of terms.

Types of Conjunctions

Conjunctions can be categorized into one of three groupings:

Coordinating Conjunctions

Coordinating conjunctions are the ones that spring to mind when people think
about conjunctions. They include and, but, or, nor, for, so, and yet.

Coordinating conjunctions are used to join individual words, phrases,

andindependent clauses.

Coordinating Conjunctions Joining Individual Words:

 Jamie, Adam, and Lee arranged to meet by The Bull at 7 o'clock.

 It is a small but practical kitchen.

Coordinating Conjunctions Joining Individual Phrases:

 The finance manager or his new deputy from Holland will notify you when the
report is ready to send.

 John or his new deputy from Holland will notify you when the report is ready to
send.

(You can join a mix of words and phrases with a coordinating conjunction. Here, the
conjunction or groups the word John and the phrase his new deputy from Holland.)

Coordinating Conjunctions Joining Individual Clauses:

 A little sincerity is a dangerous thing, and a great deal of it is absolutely

fatal. (Oscar Wilde)

(Here, the conjunction and joins two independent clauses.)

 We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars. (Oscar
Wilde)

 History will be kind to me, for I intend to write it. (Winston Churchill)
The word coordinating means of equal rank. Usually, the elements joined by a
coordinating conjunction are of equal rank. It is unusual, but possible, to see a mix of
these groups joined by a coordinating conjunction.

Correlative Conjunctions

Correlative conjunctions appear in pairs. For

example, either...or,neither...nor, whether...or, and not only...but also.

 This man is either dead or my watch has stopped. (Groucho Marx)

Subordinating Conjunctions

Subordinating conjunctions
include: after, although, as, because, before, if,once, since, than, that, though, till, u
ntil, when, where, whether, and while.

They are used to show the relationship between an independent

clause adependent clause.

 Keep your hand on the wound until the nurse asks you to take it off.

 Personally I'm always ready to learn, although I do not always like being
taught. Sir Winston Churchill (1874-1965)

 We can't all be heroes because somebody has to sit on the curb and clap as
they go by. Will Rogers (1879-1935)

Click on the coordinating conjunctions:

Chewing gum or putting a spoon in your mouthwhile peeling and cutting onions will
keep youfrom crying, but preparing them under waterhas no effect.

Errors with Conjunctions

Conjunctions do not normally cause serious errors, but writers are sometimes
confused about when to place a comma before a conjunction. Unfortunately, there
is no simple rule, such as: Never put a comma beforeand.

The guidelines are explained in the lesson Conjunctions and Commas.

Comma before And in a List?

Most lists look like this:

 Thing, another thing, another thing, and the final thing.

The conjunction sits before the final thing. In this case, it's the word and. The big
question is whether the comma before the and is right or wrong.

When there are just two list items, there is no need for a comma before the
conjunction. For example:

 Thing and the final thing.

(No comma is required because it is a list containing just two list items.)

Here's a real example:

 I know George and Toby.

(No comma required before the and.)

The whole world is agreed on not needing a comma with just two list items.

However, when there are more than two list items, the world is divided on whether
there should be a comma. There is no right answer. You have to pick a convention
and stick with it.

The comma before the conjunction is called an Oxford Comma. Some people
consider the Oxford Comma to be a waste of ink, while others strongly campaign for
its inclusion. In general terms, the Oxford Comma is more common in the US than it is
in the UK (despite it being called the Oxford Comma).

Followers of the Oxford Comma Avoiders of the Oxford Comma

(generally Americans) (generally Brits)

 I went to the shop for eggs and  I went to the shop for eggs and
butter. butter.

(There is no need for a comma with just (There is no need for a comma with just
two list items.) two list items.)

 She went to the shop for eggs,  She went to the shop for eggs,
milk, and butter. milk, and butter.

 She went to the shop for eggs,  She went to the shop for eggs,
milk and butter. milk and butter.

 Carl, David, and Sarah were all  Carl, David, and Sarah were all
there. there.

 Carl, David and Sarah were all  Carl, David and Sarah were all
there. there.
There is another quirk. On occasion, it may be appropriate to use a comma with the
conjunction in a simple list (even a list with just two list items). This could be for the
sake of tidiness or to eliminate ambiguity. For example:

 The news will be shown after Dangermouse, and Rug Rats.

(Without the comma, people could think that Dangermouse and Rug Rats is one
programme.)

 The train will stop at Harrow, Pinner, Watford, and Bushey.

(Watford and Bushey could be one place, like Bath and Wells.)

 The emblem is an amalgamation of the British and Irish flags, the

Starsand Stripes, and the Hammer and Sickle.

(The word and appears lots of times in this example. The comma before
the and makes it easier for the reader to identify the list items.