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 others see Conjunctions in the Glossary of Terms.)
Conjunctions can be categorized into one of three groupings
Coordinating Conjunctions
Coordinating conjunctions are the ones which tend to spring
to mind when people thin! about conjunctions. They include
and, but, or, nor, for, so and yet. They are used to join
indi"idual words, phrases and independent clauses.
Coordinating Conjunctions Joining Individual Words:
#amie, $dam and %ee arranged to meet by The &ull at
' o(cloc!.
(conjunction and groups Jamie, Adam ) Lee)
*t is a small but practical !itchen.
(conjunction but groups small ) practical)
Coordinating Conjunctions Joining Individual Phrases:
The finance manager or his new deputy will notify
you when the report is ready.
(conjunction or groups manager ) deputy)
#ohn or his new deputy from +olland will notify you
when the report is ready.
(,ou can join a mi- of words and phrases with a
coordinating conjunction. +ere, the conjunction or
groups the word John ) the phrase his new deputy
from Holland.)
Coordinating Conjunctions Joining Individual Clauses:
$ little sincerity is a dangerous thing, and a great deal
of it is absolutely fatal. (.scar /ilde)
(conjunction and joins two independent clauses)
/e are all in the gutter, but some of us are loo!ing at
the stars. (.scar /ilde)
(conjunction but joins two independent clauses)
+istory will be !ind to me, for * intend to write it.

STARTI! A S"T"C"
WIT# A C$J%CTI$
*n the past, schools were rigid
in their ruling that sentences
could not start with
conjunctions, such as And or
But. +owe"er, nowadays, this
practice is considered
acceptable.
* was certain 0etro"s!i
did it for financial gain.
&ut, ha"ing read his
diary, * ha"e a new
theory.
*("e had a perfectly
wonderful e"ening. &ut,
this wasn(t it.
(Groucho 1ar-)
The two most common
conjunctions used in this way
are And (meaning In addition)
and But (meaning However). *t
is usual to follow each with a
comma.
/hilst it is acceptable to use
And or But to start a sentence,
this practice should be limited
and only used for impact or to
control the flow of te-t. *f you
find yourself using them too
often, you should consider
changing the style of your
writing. 2tarting your sentences
with conjunctions will annoy
your readers if you do it too
often.

(/inston Churchill)
(conjunction for joins two independent clauses)
Coordinating means of equal rank. 3sually, the elements
joined by a coordinating conjunction are of e4ual ran!.
Therefore
/ords, phrases, non5independent clauses can be
grouped together.
*ndependent clauses can be grouped together.
*t is unusual to see a mi- of these groups joined by a
coordinating conjunction.
Correlative Conjunctions
Correlati"e conjunctions appear in pairs. 6or e-ample,
either...or, neither...nor, whether...or and not only...but also.
This man is either dead or my watch has stopped.
(Groucho 1ar-)
Subordinating Conjunctions
2ubordinating conjunctions include after, although, as,
because, before, if, once, since, than, that, though, till, until,
when, where, whether and while.
They are used to show the relationship between the
independent clause and the dependent clause.
7eep your hand on the wound until the nurse as!s
you to ta!e it off.
0ersonally *(m always ready to learn, although * do
not always li!e being taught. 2ir /inston Churchill
(89':58;<=)
/e can(t all be heroes because somebody has to sit on
the curb and clap as they go by. /ill >ogers (89';5
8;?=)


Clic& on the coordinating conjunctions:
* !now it seems unli!ely and illogical, but do not forget that
the cigarette lighter was in"ented before the match.


"rrors with Conjunctions
Conjunctions do not normally cause serious errors, but
writers are sometimes confused about when to place a comma
before a conjunction. 3nfortunately, there is no simple rule,
such as @e"er put a comma before and.
The guidelines are e-plained in the lesson Conjunctions and
Commas.
Co''a before And in a (ist?
1ost lists loo! li!e this
Thing, another thing, another thing, and the final
thing.
The conjunction sits before the final thing. *n this case, it(s
the word and. The big 4uestion is whether the comma before
the and is right or wrong.
/hen there are just two list items, there is no need for a
comma before the conjunction. 6or e-ample
Thing and the final thing.
(@o comma is re4uired because it is a list containing
just two list items.)
+ere(s real e-ample
* !now George and Toby.
(@o comma re4uired before the and.)
The whole world is agreed on not needing a comma with just
two list items.
+owe"er, when there are more than two list items, the world
is di"ided on whether there should be a comma. There is no
right answer. ,ou ha"e to pic! a con"ention and stic! with it.
The comma before the conjunction is called an !ford
"omma. 2ome people consider the .-ford Comma to be a
waste of in!, while others strongly campaign for its inclusion.
*n general terms, the .-ford Comma is more common in the
32 than it is in the 37 (despite it being called the .-ford
Comma).
)ollowers of the $*ford
Co''a
+generall, A'ericans-
Avoiders of the $*ford
Co''a
+generall, .rits-
* went to the shop for
eggs and butter.
(There is no need for a
comma with just two
list items.)
2he went to the shop
for eggs, mil!, and
butter.
2he went to the shop
for eggs, mil! and
butter.
Carl, Aa"id, and 2arah
were all there.
Carl, Aa"id and 2arah
were all there.
* went to the shop for
eggs and butter.
(There is no need for a
comma with just two
list items.)
2he went to the shop
for eggs, mil!, and
butter.
2he went to the shop
for eggs, mil! and
butter.
Carl, Aa"id, and 2arah
were all there.
Carl, Aa"id and 2arah
were all there.
There is another 4uir!. .n occasion, it may be appropriate to
use a comma with the conjunction in a simple list (e"en a list
with just two list items). This could be for the sa!e of tidiness
or to eliminate ambiguity. (This topic is also co"ered in the
lesson Commas in %ists.)
B-amples
The news will be shown after Aangermouse, and >ug
>ats.
(/ithout the comma, people could thin! that
#angermouse and $ug $ats is one programme.)
The train will stop at /atford, +arrow, 0inner,
/atford, and &ushey.
(%atford and Bushey could be one place, li!e Bath
and %ells.)
The emblem is an amalgamation of the &ritish and
*rish flags, the 2tars and 2tripes, and the +ammer and
2ic!le.
(The word and appears lots of times in this e-ample.
The comma before
the and ma!es it easier for the reader to identify the
last list item.)
2ee also
/hat are adjecti"esC
/hat are ad"erbsC
/hat are interjectionsC
/hat are nounsC
/hat are prepositionsC
/hat are pronounsC
/hat are "erbsC
Conjunctions and commas
Conjunctions and semicolons
Commas before conjunctions (and, or, but)
1ore than * or more than meC
%ist of easily confused words
>ead more at httpDDwww.grammar5
monster.comDlessonsDconjunctions.htmEus<f'Ager3jf>'?<.;;