LOGICAL

CONNECTORS
CHAPTER 26
Logical connectors are chiefly include what are traditionally
called subordinating conjunctions (what we have called
adverbial coordinators) and conjunctive adverbials. Logical
connectors are typically said to be types of cohesive devices,
lexical expressions that may add little or no prepositional
content by themselves but that serve to specify the
relationships among sentences in oral or written discourse,
thereby leading the listener/reader to the feeling that the
sentences “hang together” or make sense.
Types of Logical Connectors

1. Clauses with Adverbial Subordinators

Adverbial Subordinators function to subordinate one clause to

another and they have the force of an adverbial.

Advl Cl
8. Advl Advl P
Prep P

9. Advl Cl adv sub S

Simple Adverbial Subordinators
• After • Since
• Although • Though
• As • Until
• Because • Unless
• Before • When (ever)
• If • Where (ver)
• Least • Whereas
• Once • while

We should point out immediately that many of the words listed above
also fit other part of speech categories, in which they would not be
called adverbial subordinators.
One test for whether or not a form is serving as an adverbial subordinator
is to move the clause into different positions in the sentence.

Final: A whole crowd came out to see him when he arrived.

Initial: When he arrived, a whole crowd came out to see him.
Medial: A whole crowd came out, when he arrived, to see him.

Adverbial subordinators double in other contexts as prepositions in

prepositional phrases.
Advl sub: Before/After the play ended, many patrons were crying.
Prep: Before/After the play we had coffee.
Advl sub: Since the day you talked to me about it, I’ve become convinced.
Prep: Since Monday, it has been terribly hot.
Complex Adverbial Subordinators
The pattern of preceding a subordinate clause, where the combination of (complex
adverbial subordinator + clause) is able to appear in various positions in the
sentence – before, after, and occasionally in the middle of the main clause.
• So/as long as • In case (that)
• As soon as • In order that
• Even if • Insofar as
• Even though • In that
• Given that • Now that
• Inasmuch as • Provided that
• So that
Final: You can stay with us as long as you bring your own bedding.
Initial: As long as you bring your own bedding, you can stay with us.
The Syntax of Sentence with Adverbial clauses
When the adverbial subordinator + subordinate clause appears in final position
in the sentence, the tree looks like the following:
When the adverbial clause appears at the beginning of the sentence, the
adverbial clause is considered a sentence modifier.
Conjunctive Adverbials – are complete adverbials unto themselves. They do
not subordinate clause; rather, they connect independent clauses.
Ex. Sam should leave; however, Larry will object.
List of Adverbials
• Additionally • Further more • Likewise
• After all • However • Moreover
• Also • In addition • Nevertheless
• Alternatively • In any case/event • On the contrary
• As a result • Indeed • On the other hand
• In contrast • In fact • Otherwise
• Consequently • In other words • Rather
• Conversely • In particular • Similarly
• Despite that • In spite of that • Still
• First, second, finally • In sum • That is
• For example/instance • In turn • therefore
Most of these conjunctive adverbials are capable of appearing in different
places in a clause.

Ex. However, raccoons are much smaller.

Raccoons and bears are related animals Raccoons are much smaller, however.
Raccoons, however, are much smaller.
PUNCTUATION
Coordinating Conjunction – English writers tend to punctuate coordinated clauses in three ways –
with periods before them, commas before them, and no punctuation at all.

• They had just arrived at their vacation retreat. But already they wanted to leave.
• They had just arrived at their vacation retreat, but already they wanted to leave.
• They had just arrived but they wanted to leave.

Adverbial Subordinators – with subordination, the options are somewhat more limited.
• He could not steer the boat out of the storm although he tried every means possible.
The two-clause sequence of main clause + subordinate clause does not require comma punctuation.
An exception to this occurs when the adverbial clause has an after thought quality – when there
is a separation or juncture between it and the main clause, reflected in writing by the comma.
With the combination of subordinate clause + main clause, comma is almost always used between
the clauses in written text.
• Although he tried every means possible, he could not steer the boat out of the stream.
Conjunctive adverbials
When we turn to the conjunctive adverbial however, we see that it is preceded
by a period or semicolon. When however is in the clause-initial position of the
second of two clauses that it connects, it is always followed by a comma. The
comma is somewhat dependent on which conjunctive adverbials is used.
• He tried every means possible. However he could not steer the boat out of
the storm.
• He tried every means possible; however, he could not steer the boat out of
storm.
• He tried every means possible. Nevertheless he could not steer the boat out
of the storm.
We do not see punctuation like the following:
• He every means possible, however, he could not steer the boat out of the storm.
• He tried every means possible; he could not, however, steer the boat out of
the storm.

This rule depend somewhat on the particular conjunctive adverbial. A conjunctive

adverbial like also, need not be set off with commas.
• He tried every means possible. His partner also tried.
When the conjunctive adverbial falls at the end of the sentence, punctuation is not
usually necessary.
• We could invite John. He’s too busy though.

However is the exception to this rule, requiring a comma before it even when it is in
clause-final position.
• He tried every means possible. He could not steer the boat out of the storm,
however.
Punctuation Problems for ESL/EFL Students
Reasons:
1. Because the three classes of connectors are functionally so similar, students
may consider them grammatically equivalent as well.
2. Not all languages distinguish three classes of connectors in the way that
English does, and for some that do have more than one class, there is a
different correspondence between meaning and class than exists in English.
3. Many conjunctive adverbials such as nevertheless and consequently are
relatively uncommon in oral production, the result that input providing cues to
intonation is not normally available.

*All these problems suggest that in teaching logical connectors, teachers should
draw student’s attention to issues of punctuation.
Other ESL/EFL Form Problem with Logical Connectors
 Because Versus Because Of
Confusion occurs between forms that are semantically and functionally similar
but grammatically distinct. There is in English a prepositional construction
because of that requires a noun object; it is often confused with the adverbial
subordinator because, because resulting in sentence like
• We were late because of we had car problems.
A parallel problem holds for the expressions as a result and as a result of.
Then, often the synonymous prepositional constructions due to and on account
of are mistakenly pressed into service by learners as adverbial subordinators.
• I couldn’t finish my homework due to it was too hard.
For Example Versus Such As Functions as a complex preposition

Functions as a conjunctive adverbial

• We like beaches that have good surf. For example, we like Hapuna Rincon.
• We like beaches that have good surf. *Such as, we like Hapuna and Rincon.
Such as is best presented as a prepositional construction: in normal use, it is most
often followed by a noun, not by a full clause:
• We like beaches that have good surf, such as Hapuna and Rincon.
For example, as a conjunctive adverbial, may semantically connect constituents smaller
than full clauses. However, when it is used in this way, it is most often set off from the
main clause by a dash or a colon:
• We like beaches that have good surf– for example, Hapuna and Rincon.
• We like beaches that have good surf: Hapuna and Rincon, for example.
 During Versus While
While – adverbial subordinator
During – acts as preposition
• During I was making the dinner, the phone rang.

The ideas expressed by while and during are the same. However, during
can appear only before noun phrases:
• During the course of the day, four meals were served.
• During 1979, I was working in Europe.
While used in place of during is uncommon.
• While 1979, I was working in Europe.
The meaning of adverbial subordinators
- All languages seem to have some means to use clauses to modify
other clauses in a way consistent with English adverbial clauses.
English has adverbial subordinators that fall into most of these
categories as follows. Most of them are truth-conditional:
• Time: after, as long as, as soon as, before, since, when,
whenever, until.
• Location: where, wherever
• Manner: as (Do that as your brother does it.), in that
• Purpose: so that, in order that
• Reason: since, because, as (e.g., He left, as it was late.),
inasmuch as, now that
The types of Because
The more common of the two meanings clearly contributes to
truth-conditions in specifying a cause; there is no intonation drop
until the end of the complete sentence:
a. My friend was probably fired, because he didn’t come to work
on time.
b. My friend was probably fired, because I don’t see him
anywhere.
The idea in sentence (a) is that being late led to dismissal.
In sentence (c), the speaker is saying that his/her inability to find
the friend constitutes evidence for the belief that the friend has
been fired.
 Thank
you for
watching