Parts of Speech - Conjunctions
- The conjunction is a word to connect or join:
- singular words: James and John
- phrase: The criminal hurried into an empty building and escaped through the window
- clause: John was defeated but not humiliated
- They are otherwise known as ‘joiner-words’. Such words include: since, while, whether, because, if, yet, unless, even though, therefore, moreover, neither, either, hence, although, and, but, etc.
- Each of these performs a linking function, but, we must however note that not every word that performs a linking function is termed conjunction
- Some other parts of speech can also be used to join different words or parts of a sentence together. They include:
- Relative Pronoun: Whom, who, which, that, those, whose. For example:
- This is the child who lost her hat.
- Grace is the girl whom I helped over the bridge
- Adverb: because, when, where, if, unless, so, that, although, after, before, as, how, why, etc. For example:
- The teacher punishes the boy because he is lazy
- He knows where he was born
- Relative Pronoun: Whom, who, which, that, those, whose. For example:
Types of Conjunction
- In the English language, conjunctions are of various categories. They are:
- Coordinating Conjunction: These are used to join sentence elements of the same grammatical rank, i.e. noun with noun, verb with verb, adjective with adjective, phrase with phrase, clause with clause.
They include:- Copulative – Used to denote addition, close similarity or relationship. E.g. both, also, and, too, further, etc.
- Disjunctive – Used to denote choice. E.g. either, neither, nor, or, else, otherwise, etc.
- Adversative – Used to denote contrast. E.g. but, still, yet, notwithstanding, etc.
- Illative – Used to denote inference or sequence, i.e. they show results of actions. E.g. therefore, consequently, then, hence, so, etc.
- Subordinating Conjunctions: This joins a subordinate clause to the main clause. It is used to:
- denote cause and purpose. E.g. that, so, lest, in order that, etc.
- denote condition. E.g. if, except, unless, etc.
- denote time. E.g. as, while, until, since, before, after, etc.
- show reason/cause of action. E.g. whereas, because, as, for, etc.
- denote comparison/degree/manner. E.g. as, as far as, so, etc.
- Correlative Conjunction: These are two related conjunctions used together to join minor or major elements of a sentence. They are used to express choice. For example:
- Either – or,
- Neither – nor,
- Both – and,
- Not only – but also,
- Although – yet,
- Whether – or,
- Rather – than,
- Scarcely – when,
- No sooner – than,
- Not – but,
- Hardly – when,
- Between – and, etc.
- Note: Correlative conjunctions must be placed immediately before the sentence elements which they are to join.
- Wrong: John was advised either to see the provost or the registrar
- Right: John was advised to see either the provost or the registrar.