Free English Tutorial - Conjunctions and their Types
If you are studying in school or have chosen the Arts stream at the college level, then the lesson on conjunctions, which we often use in sentences, is one of the important chapters for English. In this article, you are learning about conjunctions and their types.
A conjunction is a joining word that joins words, sentences, phrases, and clauses. Some words commonly used as conjunctions are and, or, but, with, etc.
A conjunction is used in a sentence in the following way: She is going to the temple and then visiting her aunt. It is a word used to simplify a sentence. In this article, you are studying four types of conjunctions.Four types of conjunctions
Coordinating conjunctions
They are used to join the grammatical aspects of one type, such as a noun with a noun, a verb with a verb, or a clause with a clause. They are used to join words of equal syntactic importance. Some common examples of coordinating conjunctions are but, so, etc. Examples of coordinating conjunctions are mentioned below:
a) She is washing and ironing her clothes today. In this sentence, the word 'and' joins two verbs, namely 'washing and ironing'.
b) He did not study for the test, so he secured fewer marks. Here,'so' is a conjunction that is joining two verbs, namely studying and securing.Subordinating conjunctions
It is a word used to join a dependent clause to an independent clause. The word joins a dependent clause to an independent clause. It shows the cause-and-effect relationship between a dependent clause and an independent clause.
Let's take an example of a subordinate clause: "It is sunny. It is a complete sentence, but we do not know the purpose. We can add another sentence to clarify the purpose. "It is sunny. We will go out for shopping." We can now join these two clauses using a specific word. We can use 'whenever' to join two clauses. Joining the two clauses together, we can frame a sentence: "Whenever it is sunny, we go out for shopping.".Correlative conjunctions
It is a word or a phrase that joins two sentences that have equivalent weight or importance. They show how two phrases can join together. Some of the fine examples of correlative conjunctions are either, neither, nor, etc.
Examples:
1) I am buying a basket that is either pink or purple. So, the conjunctions in the following sentences are 'either' and 'or'. They are equally important in a sentence. If we are using 'either' then we should use 'or' to make a meaningful sentence.
2) She not only played the game well but also won a prize. In this sentence, the two conjunctions are 'not only' and 'but also', which are equally significant in a sentence.Conjunct adverbs
These words or phrases join two independent clauses together in a sentence. These words are adverbs, but they also join two clauses together. They are known as linking adverbs and also show the relationship between two words. Some words commonly used as conjunct adverbs are alternatively, moreover, therefore, etc.
Examples
1) I studied hard for two months; therefore, I am thoroughly prepared for the exam. In this sentence, 'therefore' is a conjunct adverb that joins two sentences: 'I study hard for the exam' and 'I am prepared for the exam.
2) I brought an umbrella to school today; however, it did not rain. So, in this sentence, 'however' is a conjunct adverb that joins two independent clauses: 'I got an umbrella' and 'It did not rain'.Conclusion
Although conjunctions are commonly known as 'joining words' or 'phrases', we have studied different types of conjunctions that are used in different ways.
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Conjunctions are important words used in a complex sentence. This article gives a very basic but clear picture of conjunctions used in our day-to-day writing. If a writer creates long sentences, he or she uses conjunctions in it at multiple places and that may create confusions at times. In such cases we should break the long sentence into smaller ones.