Conjunction

In a conjunction ( CONJ or CNJ) is a that conects words sentenc,pharases or Clauses

A discourse connective is a conjunction joining sentences. This definition may overlap with
that of other parts of speech, so what constitutes a "conjunction" must e defined for each
languange. In general, a conjunction is an invariale pratical, and it may or may not stand
etween the items it conjoins.
The definition may also e e!tended to idiomatic phrases that ehave as a unit with the same
function, eg "as well as", "provided that".
"any students are taught that sentences should not start with certain conjunctions (such as
"and", "ut", "ecause", and "so")# however, authorities such as the Chicago "anual of
Style state that this teaching has "no historical or grammatical foundation".
A simple literary e!ample of a conjunction$ "the truth of nature, and the power of giving
interest" (%amuel Taylor Coleridge&s 'iographia (iteraria)
) Coordinating conjunctions
* Correlative conjunctions
+ %uordinating conjunctions
, %ee also
- .eferences
/ 0!ternal lin1s
Coordinating conjunctions
Coordinating conjunctions, also called coordinators, are conjunctions that join,
or coordinate, two or more items (such as words, main clauses, or sentences) of e2ual
syntactic importance. In 0nglish, the mnemonic acronym 3A4'56% can e used to
rememer the coordinators for, and, nor, ut, or, yet, and so. These are not the only
coordinating conjunctions# various others are used, including"and nor" ('ritish), "ut nor"
('ritish), "or nor" ('ritish), "neither" ("They don&t gamle# neither do they smo1e"), "no
more" ("They don&t gamle# no more do they smo1e"), and "only" ("I would go, only I don&t
have time"). Types of coordinating conjunctions include cumulative conjunctions, adversative
conjunctions, alternative conjunctions, and illative conjunctions.
7ere are some e!amples of coordinating conjunctions in 0nglish and what they do$
For
presents rationale ("They do not gamle or smo1e, for they are ascetics.")
And
presents non8contrasting item(s) or idea(s) ("They gamle and they smo1e.")
Nor
presents a non8contrasting negative idea ("They do not gamle, nor do they smo1e.")
But
presents a contrast or e!ception ("They gamle, ut they don&t smo1e.")
Or
presents an alternative item or idea ("0very day they gamle or they smo1e.")
Yet
presents a contrast or e!ception ("They gamle, yet they don&t smo1e.")
So
presents a conse2uence ("7e gamled well last night so he smo1ed a cigar to celerate.")
Correlative conjunctions
Correlative conjunctions wor1 in pairs to join words and groups of words of e2ual weight in
a sentence. There are si! different pairs of correlative conjunctions
either...or
not only...ut (also)
neither...nor
oth...and
whether...or
just as...so
0!amples$
1. 6ou either do your wor1 or prepare for a trip to the office.
2. Not only is he handsome, but he is also rilliant.
3. Neither the as1etall team nor the footall team is doing well.
4. Both the cross country team and the swimming team are doing well.
5. Whether you stay or you go, it&s your decision.
6. Just as many Americans love as1etall, so many Canadians love ice hoc1ey.
%uordinating conjunctions
Subordinating conjunctions, also called subordinators, are conjunctions that join
an independent clause and a dependent clause, and also introduce adver clauses. The most
common suordinating conjunctions in the 0nglish language include after, although, as, as far
as, as if, as long as, as soon as, as though, ecause, efore, even if, even though, every
time, if, in order that, since, so, so
that, than, though, unless, until, when, whenever, where, whereas, wherever, and while.
Complementi9ers can e considered to e special suordinating conjunctions that
introduce complement clauses$ e.g. "I wonder whether he&ll e late. I hope that he&ll e on
time". %ome suordinating conjunctions (until and while), when used to introduce a phrase
instead of a full clause, ecome prepositions with identical meanings.
The suordinating conjunction performs two important functions within a sentence$
illustrating the importance of the independent clause and providing a transition etween two
ideas in the same sentence y indicating a time, place, or cause and thus effecting the
relationship etween the clauses.
In many ver8final languages, suordinate clauses must precede the main clause on which
they depend. The e2uivalents to the suordinating conjunctions of non8ver8final languages
such as 0nglish are either
%uch languages often lac1 conjunctions as a part of speech, ecause$
). the form of the ver used is formally nominalised and cannot occur in an independent
clause
*. the clause8final conjunction or suffi! attached to the ver is a mar1er of case and is
also used in nouns to indicate certain functions. In this sense, the suordinate clauses
of these languages have much in common with postpositional phrases.
In other :est ;ermanic languages li1e ;erman and <utch, the word order after a
suordinating conjunction is different from that in an independent clause, e.g. in
<utch want("for") is coordinating, ut omdat ("ecause") is suordinating. The clause after
the coordinating conjunction has normal word order, ut the clause after the suordinating
conjunction has ver8final word order. Compare$
7ij gaat naar huis, want hij is 9ie1. ("7e goes home, for he is ill.")
7ij gaat naar huis, omdat hij 9ie1 is. ("7e goes home, ecause he is ill.")
%imilarly, in ;erman, "denn" (for) is coordinating, ut "weil" (ecause) is suordinating$
0r geht nach 7ause, denn er ist 1ran1. ("7e goes home, for he is ill.")
0r geht nach 7ause, weil er 1ran1 ist. ("7e goes home, ecause he is ill.")