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Coordinating & Subordinating Conjunctions

What are Conjunctions?
Conjunctions help join words or groups of words in a sentence, and they can take different forms as coordinating conjunctions or subordinating conjunctions.
Coordinating conjunctions:
Coordinating conjunction link parts of any given sentence (phrases, or clauses) that are independent or equal using the following: and/or/but/so/yet/nor/for.
- Use ”and” if you want to mean “in addition to”.
- Use ”or” to show a choice between two things.
- Use “but” to connect two different things that do not agree.
- Use “so” if you want to declare the last part of the sentence as result.
- Use ”for” can be used in place of the word (because).
- Use “yet” to talk about contrast with something.
- Use ”nor” to show a set of negative possibilities.
The coordinating conjunctions are also known as the F.A.N.B.O.Y.S:
- F = For.
- A = And.
- N = Nor.
- B = But.
- O = Or.
- Y = Yet.
- S = So.
Examples:
- I bought vegetables and fruits at the store.
- We are going to the zoo and the aquarium today.
- Do you want to eat inside or outside?
- I’m a night owl, but she is an early bird.
- I want to clean the house, but I am very tired.
- This song has been on my mind, so listen to it again.
- My friend is partying, so I am bringing him a gift.
- He wants to become a leader, for there is no one to lead them.
- She took chemistry for it is her favorite class material.
- He prepared very well, yet he could not make it to the finales.
- He failed multiple times on his experiment, yet he never gives up.
- I cannot be at the meeting nor can Adam.
- She did not pass the first phase nor the last one.
Subordinating conjunctions:
Use subordination to join two sentences together when one idea is less important (subordinate) to the other using:
SUBORDINATORS | EXAMPLES | |
---|---|---|
Comparison | ||
Than | She is more clever then all of us. | |
Rather Than | I will have tea rather than coffee. | |
Whether | You must decide whether you will go by train or by plane. | |
As Much As | I eat as much as you. | |
Whereas | Ahmed is tall and blond whereas his brother is short and has dark hair. | |
Relative adjectives | ||
That | She went to the market that she likes the most. | |
Whatever | He is always honest about whatever he says. | |
which | The car which I drive is old. | |
Time | ||
After | Mary went out with her friends, after she had done her homework. | |
As soon as | A baby elephant can stand as soon as it is born. | |
As long as | You will succeed as long as you do your homework. | |
Before | She always feeds her cat before she goes to school. | |
By the time | By the time he arrived the party has begun. | |
Now that | You can go and play now that you have finished your homework. | |
Once | Once you learn it, you never forget. | |
Since | Ahmed is a teacher since 2010. | |
Till | James lived with his parents till he was twenty-five. | |
Until | You can stay on the bus until you reach London. | |
When | They went to the beach when the weather was hot. | |
Whenever | Whenever I go out, I always take my keys with me. | |
While | While I was walking to the market, I met my old friend. | |
Concession | ||
Though | Though it was raining, she went out. | |
Although | Although the kitchen is small, it is well designed. | |
Even Though | Even though he is a millionaire, he lives in small flat. | |
Relative pronoun | ||
Who | The person who made this mess needs to clean it. | |
whoever | Whoever leaves last should turn off the light. | |
whom | He is the man whom I meet in Greece . | |
whomever | He was free to marry whomever he chose. | |
whose | She is the student whose handwriting is the best in my class. | |
Place | ||
where | This is the park where we played. | |
wherever | Wherever you go in the world you will always find someone who speaks English. | |
Condition | ||
if | If you leave now, you will miss the game. | |
Only if | You can have access to the library, only if you are a university student. | |
Unless | You won’t succeed unless you work hard. | |
Provided that | I was allowed to go off by myself, provided that I promise to be careful. | |
Assuming that | I hope to go to college next year, assuming that I pass my exams. | |
Even if | Even if you have already bought your ticket you will need to wait in line. | |
In case | I have my umbrella with me in case it rains. | |
Lest | Study hard lest you should fail | |
Manner | ||
How | She taught him how to play the piano. | |
As though | They look as though they’re heading for divorce. |