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GRAMMAR: CONJUNCTIONS (Notes)
Learning Objective: Able to identify conjunctions and their types and use them appropriately in conversation.
Competency: Communication
Value: Care
CONJUNCTIONS AND ITS TYPES
What is Conjunction?
A conjunction is a part of speech that is used to connect words, phrases, clauses, or sentences. Conjunctions
allow you to form complex, elegant sentences and avoid the choppiness of multiple short sentences.
Common examples of conjunctions include and, but, or, and although.
Examples:
1. I work quickly and carefully.
2. Sophie is clearly exhausted, yet she insists on dancing till dawn.
3. I like cooking and eating, but I don’t like washing dishes afterward.
Types of Conjunctions:
The three main types of conjunctions are
• Coordinating Conjunctions
• Subordinating Conjunctions
• Correlative Conjunctions
Coordinating Conjunctions
A coordinating conjunction is a conjunction that connects two or more equal grammatical elements. It means a
coordinating conjunction will connect the same parts of speech, such as a verb to another verb. Importantly,
coordinating conjunctions are the conjunctions used to connect independent clauses together. The most
common coordinating conjunctions are for, and, nor, but, or, yet, and so; you can remember them by using the
mnemonic device FANBOYS.
Examples:
1. Everyone sang and danced.
2. I’d like pizza or a salad for lunch.
3. We needed a place to concentrate, so we packed up our things and went to the library.
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Subordinating Conjunctions
Subordinating conjunctions join independent and dependent clauses. A subordinating conjunction can signal a
cause-and-effect relationship, a contrast, or some other kind of relationship between the clauses.
Common subordinating conjunctions are because, since, as, although, though, while, and whereas.
Examples:
• He makes sure the room is clean before he leave.
• I drank a glass of water because I was thirsty.
• We stay inside and watch movies whenever it rains.
Sometimes an adverb, such as until, after, or before can function as a conjunction.
For Example:
• I can stay out until the clock strikes twelve.
Here, the adverb, until functions as a subordinating conjunction to connect two ideas: I can stay out (the
independent clause) and the clock strikes twelve (the dependent clause).
The independent clause could stand alone as a sentence; the dependent clause depends on the independent
clause to make sense.
Note: Subordinating conjunctions can either come at the beginning of a sentence or somewhere in the middle.
If the dependent clause comes first, use a comma before the independent clause.
For Example:
• Before he leaves, make sure his room is clean.
• Because I was thirsty, I drank a glass of water.
• Whenever it rains, we stay inside and watch movies.
Correlative Conjunctions
A correlative conjunction is a type of conjunction that functions in a pair, with both words working together to
balance words, phrases, or clauses.
There are many examples of correlative conjunctions; some are used more frequently than others, but here is a
list of the most common pairs.
• Both / and
• Either / or
• No Sooner / than
• Neither / nor
• Not only / but also
• Whether / or
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Rules to remember while using Correlative conjunctions
1. Both... and: Used to describe two things at the same time.
Example:
• Both Indhu and Sheena liked the movie.
• Lorenzo likes playing both soccer and basketball.
2. Either... or: Used to present a selection of two choices or options. Either … or is used positively.
Example:
• You can choose either the red car or the blue car.
• Either mom or dad will come to pick you up.
[Link]... nor: Neither … nor are used for negative sentences.
Example:
• Neither the blue one nor the red one is available.
• Neither Mr. Smith nor Mrs. Jones came to the meeting.
4. No Sooner... than: Used to indicate two events that happened simultaneously or in quick succession.
Example:
• No sooner had I stepped out, than it started raining.
• No sooner had I received her call, than I left for her place.
5. Not only... but also: Usually used to emphasize and connect two words or phrases simultaneously.
Example:
• She not only likes broccoli, but she also likes cauliflower.
• She is not only a novelist but also a poet.
6. Whether... or: Used to express a doubt or choice between two possibilities.
Example:
• I don’t know whether he will come or not.
• Whether it’s snowing or raining, we’re still going to the concert.
The most important thing that you must focus on when using correlative conjunctions is maintaining the
subject-verb agreement in the sentence.
• If a pair of correlative conjunctions are used to link sentences with a singular subject and a plural
subject, the verb should agree to the subject (noun or pronoun) it is placed closest to.
• If a pair of correlative conjunctions are used to combine two sentences with a singular noun and a plural
noun, the pronoun should be made singular or plural in accordance with the noun it is closest to.
