GRAMMAR: Conjunctions

University:
Montgomery College
Course:
ENGL 110: Principles of English Grammar
Academic year:

2021
Views:

21

Pages:

2
Author:

zbrkanogiorr

GRAMMAR Conjunctions A conjunction is a word that connects parts of speech such as nouns, phrases, clauses, and sentences. Coordinating Conjunctions: For, and, nor, but, or, yet, so. To remember them, think FANBOYS! Beware: Then and Now are not parts of the coordinating conjunctions. Whatever is discussed here does not apply to them. A coordinating conjunction connects two or more independent clauses and is preceded by a comma if it is followed by a clause. Examples: ● Jack loves to play basketball, but he does not have the talent. ● Sonia will land today, and she will teach her class in the evening. ● She is the love of my life, for I cannot forget her after all these years. Note: When these conjunctions are used to connect nouns and phrases, they are not preceded by a comma. Examples: ● ● ● ● ● Use your credit card and your brains every day in order not to find yourself in deep debt. Live free or die hard. “To be or not to be, that’s the question” (Shakespeare). That is neither what I said nor what I meant. The guest complained about the noise yet continued to come to watch the news with us. THEN AND THAN They look alike, sound alike, but they are different. Than is used to make comparisons: ● He is taller and more handsome than I (am handsome). ● You can play football better than he (can play football). Difference: Then is a transition word; it must be preceded by a period or a semicolon and followed by a comma. It introduces a complementary idea. Examples: ● Caesar invaded Gaul (France); then, he turned his attention to AnglesLand (England). ● Students read the book; then, they comment on the character relationships. Subordinating Conjunctions : A subordinating conjunction comes at the beginning of a dependent clause. It turns a clause into a series of ideas that needs another clause (main clause) to make sense. Some subordinating conjunctions such as after, before, since can also be used as prepositions. These need to introduce a clause, to subordinate that clause to an independent clause to be called “conjunctions.” Common Subordinating Conjunctions : After, although, as, as if, as long as, as though, because, before, even if, even though If, if only, in order that, now that, once, rather than, since, so that, than, that Though, till, unless, until, when, whenever, where, whereas, wherever, while Examples: ● Unless the professor ends the class now , we will not catch the last bus. ● Mark refused to give up his role in the movie because he loved acting. The Use of Like and As Like is a preposition, so it can be used before a noun or a prepositional phrase. My brother is tall like my father. It cannot be used here: My friend cannot play football like he did before the accident. It should be: My friend cannot play football as he did before the accident. ● ● ● ● Like I told you yesterday, should be: As I told you yesterday. It looks like it is going to snow, should be: It looks as if it is going to snow. Jack was looking through the window like he was waiting for someone, should be: Jack was looking through the window as if he was waiting for someone. Correlative Conjunctions: These always function in pairs to compare or contrast ideas: Not only …. but also Whether …. or Neither …. nor Either ….. or As …. as