Conjunctions - Study Notes
Conjunctions - Study Notes
Conjunctions - Study Notes
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Conjunction
Conjunctions are the words that glue the words with words, Subject with Subjects, Part of
Sentence with parts of Sentences, Sentences with Sentences. They assist in conjoin the speech
or parts of a language.
Subject1+Conjunction+Subject2+Verb+Object
Subject1+verb+Object+Conjunction+Subject2+verb+object
John is known for his hard work but Mary is known for her procrastination.
Additives
Adds: And, also, as well, either…or,
neither…nor, as well, or, else.
Adversative
Signal Contrast: But, by the way, while, on the other hand, in contrast to, still.
Concession: But even so, above all, indeed, however, nevertheless, however.
Casual
Cause/Reason: in the view of, as, since, for, for the reason that, because of,
as.
Purpose: for the purpose of, in the hope of that, so that, in order that.
Consequence: under the circumstance of, if not, that being the case.
Conjunctions
knowledge, the reader already They love to read and write
know. together although they have
Conjunctions imply or carry different set of ideas.
forward the same idea. Sam as well as his parents
They do not begin any new idea. planned for a vacation to
Bahamas.
Conjunctions have been encoded in language to add relation between syntax in 18th
century.
Since 17th century onward, writers used Conjunctions to connect one idea to
another, to write crisp to progress readers from one significant idea to another.
Since 18th century onwards, Conjunctions have been found in relating similarity
between or among many objects and subjects.
Types of Conjunctions
Coordinating conjunctions: Coordinating conjunctions are words that conjoin
sentences with sentences, phrases with phrases, clauses with clauses, subjects
with subjects. The examples of correlative conjunctions are: For, and, nor, but, or,
yet, so.
Memory Tip
Remember these coordinating conjunctions as ‘FANBOYS’, an acronym.
Exception
Exception: ‘But’ and ‘Yet’, both are additive conjunctions, often confused with each
other. But both have different functions to perform. ‘But’ allows the statement to proceed
and supports. ‘Yet’ injects a degree of ‘contradiction’.
Examples:
Memory Tip
Ensure that a coordinating conjunction is immediately followed by a main clause. Do not
begin a sentence with coordinating conjunction.
Example:
Incorrect: But I don’t like tea, I like coffee.
Correct: I don’t like tea, but I like coffee.
Exception
Commas should not be used after coordinating conjunctions to open the sentence un-
less an interrupter immediately follows.
Note: ‘Independent clause’ is a clause that does not need any other clause to
complete the sentence. They are independent on their own. ‘She did not study’ is
an independent clause.
‘Dependent clause’ is a clause that needs clause or a sentence to support for its
completion. ‘Because she did not study’ is a dependent clause.
Exception
‘Subordinating conjunctions’ and ‘Relative pronouns’ are often confused with.
Subordinating conjunctions do not act as the subject of a dependent clause, relative
pronouns do.
To explain this, ‘John is the boy who came last night to the party’
John is the boy is an independent clause
Who came last night to the party is a dependent clause
‘who’ relates, hence, is a relative pronoun.
We talked about the movies and drama while we ate.
‘We talked about the movies and drama’ is an independent clause.
‘While we ate’ is an additive to the sentence.
‘while’ supports or ‘adds’, hence, a subordinating conjunction.
Exception
It is believed that ‘Because’ never begins a sentence. Because is a ‘subordinating
sentence’ and begins a sentence.
Common Mistake
‘Therefore’ is not a connector. It is mistaken as conjunction.
For example: Not only John but also Mary have decided to be determined about
it.
Hardly/Scarcely had+…..when+…….
Memory Tip
When using ‘Not only…but also’, sentence parallelism of construction should be
kept in mind.
For example
(Incorrect) He is not only intelligent but he also has a great sense of humor.
Testbook Trick
To identify correlative conjunction, look for split in a sentence.
Note: ‘Compound conjunctions’ are called compound as they are made of the
assimilation of two or more conjunctions. The examples of Compound
conjunctions in English grammar are: ‘as much as’, ‘as soon as, ‘As well as’.
Adverbial Conjunctions
A conjunct, a transitional conjunction, a cohesive conjunction, whatever it may be.
They are also known as these.
Memory Tip
They are commonly placed in the beginning of the main clause.
Points to Remember
Conjunctions are cohesive devices.
Conjunctions are 3 in usage, and 5 on the basis of semantic structure.
Correlative conjunctions are always used and identified in pairs.
Compound conjunctions are made of the assimilation of two or more conjunctions.
Coordinating conjunctions can be recognized as ‘F.A.N.B.O.YS.’
Correlative conjunctions to be used with the same part of speech.
Conjunctions are used as Additives, Adversatives, Casual, and Sequential.
Conjunctions and Connectors are two different concepts to study.
Adverbial conjunctions relates two or more sequential statements.
For example:
When using a coordinating conjunction to connect two items, do not use a comma.
For example:
When using a coordinating conjunction to list the items, the usage of a comma is
before a coordinating conjunction is optional.
For example:
Rule #2:
The conjunction ‘Both’ is followed by ‘And’.
For example:
For example:
For example:
For example:
For example:
For example:
She will not succeed unless she will not work hard for it. (Incorrect)
She will not succeed unless she works hard for it. (Correct)
For example:
For Example
For example:
For example:
For example:
For example:
For example:
For example:
The teacher looked at the boy in such anger that he began to cry.
More Rules
Rule #17: Difference between “that” and “if” as a conjunction.
Note 1: “IF” must be used when there is uncertainty or doubt.
For example:
(We have used “if” as a conjunction because we are NOT confirmed or sure about the second
clause.)
For example:
(We have used “that” as a conjunction because we are confirmed or sure about the second
clause)
Common Mistake
Use of “were” after “singular subject” is correct in the above example.
It is important to note that in “Subjunctive Mood”, We always use “were” instead of “was” no
matter the subject is singular or plural.
Let’s Practice!
Spot the error in the given context.
Solution:
The subordinating conjunction 'as if' means 'as though' and is usually written as --
subject + were+ complement.
The first clause connects to the second with 'as if', since the 2nd clause is the
reasoning of the first clause.
The given sentence is talking about 'time' as 2 actions were going on simultaneously.
Question 4: She ran as fast as she could she was late for school lest.
So the correct way of writing the given sentence is--She ran as fast as she could lest
she was late for school.
The conjunction 'both' is always followed by 'and' as it connects 2 words of the same
level.
Some other subordinating conjunctions are--because, before, after, when since etc.
The main clause is --'I went for a walk' and the subordinating clause is 'it was early
morning' they are joined by 'wherever'.
The conjunction does not fit the context [as it can mean-- in any place there was early
morning].
The conjunction that will be right here is-- 'as' / 'because' / 'since'.
Coordinating conjunctions join the clauses of the same rank. i.e. a simple sentence
to a simple sentence.
The given sentence has 2 simple sentences joined by the conjunction 'so'.[ which is
used to show cause, result]
However, according to the context of the sentence, it should be 'but' as the first
part talks about going to meet and the second part about him not being present.
The correct sentence is--We went to meet him but he wasn't at home.
Question 8: Unless you do not register your car it will have to be scrapped.
'Unless' means 'if not'-- since it is negative, adding another negative 'not' is
grammatically incorrect.
In the given sentence the conjunction relates to 2 nouns -'hamburger' and 'subway
sandwich'.
1. The air quality in the Capital had shown signs of improvement on Monday as it
moved from ‘very poor’ to ‘poor’ category, _____ experts said it could deteriorate
in the coming days due to toxic air coming out of the blazing fire at Bhalswa landfill
site.
Ans: But
Explanation: The given blank needs a coordinating conjunction to join the two
independent clauses - 'the air quality... category' and 'experts .... site'. Hence 'because'
is negated as it joins the dependent clause to the independent clause. 'And' is used
when both clauses are not in contrast while 'or' is used to refer to choose when two
clauses try to gain more importance.
The given sentence has two independent clauses that are equal in importance
but contrast with each other so the correct conjunction to join them is 'but'.
3. India is the second most populous country ______ the seventh largest country by
area in the world.
Ans: And
4. You can’t pass the IELTS exam _______ you study hard for it, as it is a tough exam
to pass.
Ans: Unless
Explanation: A condition is shown here and hence requires an adverb that will
show a contrast.
5. More than thirty years have now passed ______ I took my first flight.
Ans: Since