CHAPTER 28 CHAPTER 28 CONJUNCTIONS A conjunction may be used to indicate the relationship between the ideas expressed in a clause and the ideas expressed in the rest of a sentence The conjunctions in[.]
CHAPTER 28. CONJUNCTIONS A conjunction may be used to indicate the relationship between the ideas expressed in a clause and the ideas expressed in the rest of a sentence The conjunctions in the following examples are printed in bold type e.g We could go to the library, or we could go to the park He neither finished his homework nor studied for the test I went out because the sun was shining Coordinate conjunctions Coordinate conjunctions are used to join two similar grammatical constructions; for instance, two words, two phrases or two clauses e.g My friend and I will attend the meeting Austria is famous for the beauty of its landscape and the hospitality of its people The sun rose and the birds began to sing In these examples, the coordinate conjunction and is used to join the two words friend and I, the two phrases the beauty of its landscape and the hospitality of its people, and the two clauses the sun rose and the birds began to sing The most commonly used coordinate conjunctions are and, but and or In addition, the words nor and yet may be used as coordinate conjunctions In the following table, each coordinate conjunction is followed by its meaning and an example of its use Note the use of inverted word order in the clause beginning with nor Coordinate Conjunctions and: in addition but: however or: alternatively nor: and neither yet: however She tried and succeeded They tried but did not succeed Did you go out or stay at home? I did not see it, nor did they The sun is warm, yet the air is cool As illustrated above, when a coordinate conjunction joins two verbs which have the same subject, the subject need not be repeated For instance, in the example she tried and succeeded, the pronoun she acts as the subject for both the verb tried and the verb succeeded It should also be noted that when a coordinate conjunction joins two verbs which not have the same subject, the two coordinate clauses may be separated by a comma or semicolon, in order to make the meaning clear Correlative conjunctions Correlative conjunctions are used in pairs, in order to show the relationship between the ideas expressed in different parts of a sentence For instance, in the following example, the expression either or is used to indicate that the ideas expressed in the two clauses represent two alternative choices of action e.g Either you should study harder, or you should take a different course The most commonly used correlative conjunctions are both and, either or and neither nor In the table below, each pair of correlative conjunctions is accompanied by an example of its use Note that in the construction if then, the word then can usually be omitted Correlative Conjunctions both and either or neither nor hardly when if then no sooner than not only but also rather than scarcely when what with and whether or He is both intelligent and good-natured I will either go for a walk or read a book He is neither rich nor famous He had hardly begun to work, when he was interrupted If that is true, then what happened is not surprising No sooner had I reached the corner, than the bus came She is not only clever, but also hard-working I would rather go swimming than go to the library Scarcely had we left home, when it started to rain What with all her aunts, uncles and cousins, she has many relatives Have you decided whether you will come or not? Subordinate conjunctions As has been seen in previous chapters, subordinate clauses may begin with relative pronouns such as that, what, whatever, which, who and whom, as well as with words such as how, when, where, wherever and why In the following examples, the subordinate clauses are underlined e.g The house, which stood on a hill, could be seen for miles I wonder how he did that In addition, subordinate clauses may also begin with words which are commonly referred to as subordinate conjunctions In the following examples, the subordinate conjunctions are printed in bold type e.g Because it was cold, I wore my winter coat Let us wait until the rain stops The subordinate conjunctions below are accompanied by their meanings and examples of use Subordinate Conjunctions As because: As he is my friend, I will help him when: We watched as the plane took off After later in time: After the train left, we went home Although or though in spite of the fact that: Although it was after midnight, we did not feel tired Before earlier than: I arrived before the stores were open Because for the reason that: We had to wait, because we arrived early For for, because: He is happy, for he enjoys his work If on condition that: If she is here, we will see her Lest for fear that: I watched closely, lest he make a mistake Note the use of the Subjunctive Mood in the clause with lest Providing or provided on condition that: All will be well, providing you are careful Since from a past time: I have been here since the sun rose as, because: Since you are here, you can help me So or so that consequently: It was raining, so we did not go out in order that: I am saving money so I can buy a bicycle Note: When used with the meaning in order that, so is usually followed by that in formal English e.g I am saving money so that I can buy a bicycle Supposing if: Supposing that happens, what will you do? Than used in comparisons: He is taller than you are Unless except when, if not: Unless he helps us, we cannot succeed Until or till up to the time when: I will wait until I hear from you Whereas because: Whereas this is a public building, it is open to everyone on the other hand: He is short, whereas you are tall Whether if: I not know whether she was invited While at the time when: While it was snowing, we played cards on the other hand: He is rich, while his friend is poor although: While I am not an expert, I will my best In addition, the following phrases are often used at the beginning of subordinate clauses As if in a similar way: She talks as if she knows everything As long as if: As long as we cooperate, we can finish the work easily while: He has lived there as long as I have known him As soon as immediately when: Write to me as soon as you can As though in a similar way: It looks as though there will be a storm Even if in spite of a possibility: I am going out even if it rains In case because of a possibility: Take a sweater in case it gets cold Or else otherwise: Please be careful, or else you may have an accident So as to in order to: I hurried so as to be on time Certain words, such as after, before, since and until may function either as prepositions or subordinate conjunctions However it should be noted that in some cases different words must be used as prepositions and subordinate conjunctions, in order to express similar meanings This is illustrated in the table below Differing Prepositions and Conjunctions Meaning for this reason in spite of this at the time when in a similar way Preposition because of despite during like Conjunction because although while as if In the following examples, the objects of the prepositions, and the verbs of the subordinate clauses are underlined Preposition: They were upset because of the delay Conjunction: They were upset because they were delayed Preposition: Despite the rain, we enjoyed ourselves Conjunction: Although it rained, we enjoyed ourselves Preposition: We stayed indoors during the storm Conjunction: We stayed indoors while the storm raged Preposition: It looks like rain Conjunction: It looks as if it will rain In the above examples, it can be seen that the prepositions because of, despite, during and like have the noun objects delay, rain and storm; whereas the subordinate conjunctions because, although, while and as if introduce subordinate clauses containing the verbs were delayed, rained, raged and will rain It should be noted that like is sometimes used as a subordinate conjunction in informal English e.g It looks like it will rain However, this use of like is considered incorrect in formal English Connecting adverbs Connecting adverbs are often used to show the relationship between the ideas expressed in a clause and the ideas expressed in a preceding clause, sentence or paragraph In the following examples, the connecting adverbs are printed in bold type e.g I wanted to study; however, I was too tired We knew what to expect Therefore, we were not surprised at what happened In the first example, the connecting adverb however shows that there is a conflict between the idea expressed in the clause I was too tired and the idea expressed in the preceding clause I wanted to study In the second example, the connecting adverb therefore shows that there is a cause and effect relationship between the idea expressed in the sentence we knew what to expect, and the clause we were not surprised at what happened Connecting adverbs are similar to conjunctions in that both may be used to introduce clauses However, the use of connecting adverbs differs from that of conjunctions in the ways indicated below a Stress and punctuation In spoken English, a connecting adverb is usually given more stress than a conjunction Correspondingly, in formal written English a connecting adverb is usually separated from the rest of a clause by commas, whereas a conjunction is usually not separated from the rest of a clause by commas In addition, in formal written English a clause containing a connecting adverb is often separated from a preceding clause by a semicolon; whereas a clause beginning with a conjunction is usually not separated from a preceding clause by a semicolon e.g I wanted to study; however, I was too tired I wanted to study, but I was too tired In the first example, the connecting adverb however is preceded by a semicolon, and is separated from I was too tired by a comma In the second example, the conjunction but is preceded by a comma rather than by a semicolon, and is not separated from I was too tired by a comma It should be noted that when no conjunction is present, a semicolon may be used to connect two main clauses For example: The clouds dispersed; the moon rose In this example, the two main clauses the clouds dispersed and the moon rose are connected by a semicolon rather than by a conjunction b Connecting adverbs used to connect sentences Unlike conjunctions, connecting adverbs may be used in formal English to show the relationship between ideas expressed in separate sentences For example: The wind was strong Thus, I felt very cold In this example, the connecting adverb thus shows that there is a cause and effect relationship between the ideas expressed by the two sentences the wind was strong and I felt very cold In informal English, coordinate conjunctions are sometimes used to show the relationship between the ideas expressed in separate sentences For example: The wind was strong And I felt very cold However, this use of coordinate conjunctions is considered to be grammatically incorrect in formal English c Position in a clause A subordinate conjunction must usually be placed at the beginning of a clause However, as was seen in the discussion on adverbs, a connecting adverb may be placed at the beginning, in the middle, or at the end of a clause This is illustrated below e.g His visit was unexpected Nevertheless, I was pleased to see him His visit was unexpected I was, nevertheless, pleased to see him His visit was unexpected I was pleased to see him, nevertheless d Examples of connecting adverbs The following are examples of words which may be used as connecting adverbs Each connecting adverb is followed by its meaning and an example of its use Connecting Adverbs accordingly: so also: in addition besides: in addition consequently: so furthermore: in addition He was very persuasive; accordingly, I did what he asked She is my neighbor; she is also my best friend I like the job Besides, I need the money She had a fever; consequently, she stayed at home You should stop smoking Furthermore, you should it at once! He is a good friend Hence, I was not embarrassed to ask him for help however: but We wanted to arrive on time; however, we were delayed by traffic likewise: in addition The region is beautiful Likewise, the climate is excellent moreover: in addition She is very intelligent; moreover, she is very ambitious nevertheless: but They are proud Nevertheless, I like them nonetheless: but The ascent was dangerous Nonetheless, he decided to attempt it otherwise: if not, or else We should consult them; otherwise, they may be upset still: but It is a long way to the beach Still, it is a fine day to go swimming then: next, afterwards We went shopping, then we had lunch so If you are sure, then I must believe you therefore: for that I was nervous; therefore, I could not my best reason He travelled as quickly as possible Thus, he reached Boston the next thus: so, in this way day As indicated in the following table, several connecting adverbs have meanings similar to those of the conjunctions and, but or so hence: for that reason Connecting Adverbs with meanings similar to And, But and So Similar to And Similar to But Similar to So also however accordingly besides nevertheless consequently furthermore nonetheless hence likewise still therefore moreover thus Parallel construction The repetition of a particular grammatical construction is often referred to as parallel construction This is illustrated in the following examples e.g I am neither angry nor excited The resort contains tennis courts, swimming pools and a snack bar In the first example, the two phrases neither angry and nor excited exhibit parallel construction In the second example, the three phrases tennis courts, swimming pools and a snack bar exhibit parallel construction In English, it is considered preferable to use parallel construction whenever parallel ideas are expressed Thus, whenever possible, parallel construction should be employed when correlative conjunctions are used In the following example, the correlative conjunctions are printed in bold type e.g Incorrect: He has both a good education, and he has good work habits Corrected: He has both a good education and good work habits The first sentence is incorrect, since both and and are followed by different grammatical constructions Both is followed by the phrase a good education; whereas and is followed by the clause he has good work habits The second sentence has been corrected by changing the clause he has good work habits into the phrase good work habits The following example illustrates the use of parallel construction with the correlative conjunctions neither nor e.g Incorrect: She turned neither right nor to the left Corrected: She turned neither right nor left or Corrected: She turned neither to the right nor to the left The first sentence is incorrect, since neither is followed by a single word; whereas nor is followed by a prepositional phrase The second sentence has been corrected by changing the phrase to the left to the word left Alternatively, as shown in the third sentence, two prepositional phrases can be used Parallel construction should also be used when listing a series of ideas For example: Incorrect: The hotel is charming, well-situated and is not expensive Corrected: The hotel is charming, well-situated and inexpensive The first sentence is incorrect, since the first two items in the series, charming and wellsituated, are adjectives, whereas the last item, is not expensive, contains a verb The second sentence has been corrected by changing is not expensive to the adjective inexpensive The following is another example of the use of parallel construction when listing a series of ideas e.g Incorrect: I like to ski, skating and swimming Corrected: I like skiing, skating and swimming The first sentence is incorrect, since the first item in the series, to ski, is an infinitive, whereas the second and third items, skating and swimming, are gerunds The second sentence has been corrected by changing the infinitive to ski to the gerund skiing