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26.4: Conjunctions

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    Conjunctions are the words that join sentences, phrases, and other words together. Conjunctions are divided into several categories, all of which follow different rules. We will discuss coordinating conjunctions, adverbial conjunctions, correlative conjunctions, and subordinating conjunctions.

    Coordinating Conjunctions

    Compass iconThe most common conjunctions are and, or, and but. These are all coordinating conjunctions. Coordinating conjunctions are conjunctions that join, or coordinate, two or more equivalent items (such as words, phrases, or sentences). The mnemonic acronym FANBOYS can be used to remember the most common coordinating conjunctions: for, and, nor, but, or, yet, and so. Here are some examples of these used in sentences:

    • Nuclear-powered artificial hearts proved to be complicated, bulky, and expensive.
    • Any external injury or internal injury put patients at risk of uncontrolled bleeding because the small clots that formed throughout the circulatory system used up so much of the clotting factor.
    • The current from the storage batteries can power lights, but the current for appliances must be modified within an inverter.

    Practice

    Are the correct coordinating conjunctions being used in each of the following sentences? Explain your reasoning why or why not:

    1. I love boxing or sewing. They’re both a lot of fun.
    2. Martin is pretty good at writing, for Jaden is better.
    3. Juana had to choose. Would she join the red team and the blue team?

    [practice-area rows=”4″][/practice-area]
    [reveal-answer q=”843777″]Show Answer[/reveal-answer]
    [hidden-answer a=”843777″]

    1. The conjunction or presents an alternative. However, the second sentence indicates that the speaker enjoys both activities. The correct sentence would use and: “I love boxing and sewing. They’re both a lot of fun.”
    2. The conjunction for presents a reason. It’s unlikely that Jaden being better is the reason Martin is pretty good at writing, so a different conjunction should be used. But would be a good fit here, since the ideas contrast: “Martin is pretty good at writing, but Jaden is better.”
    3. The conjunction and presents non-contrasting items or ideas. Since the first sentence sets up a choice, we know that Juana can’t be on both teams. The conjunction or presents an alternative and is the correct conjunction to use in this sentence: “Would she join the red team or the blue team?”

    [/hidden-answer]

    As you can see from the examples above, a comma only appears before these conjunctions sometimes. So how can you tell if you need a comma or not? There are three general rules to help you decide.

    Rule 1: Joining Two Complete Ideas

    Let’s look back at one of our example sentences:

    The current from the storage batteries can power lights, but the current for appliances must be modified within an inverter.

    There are two complete ideas in this sentence (a complete idea has both a subject and a verb). Because each of these ideas could stand alone as a sentence, the coordinating conjunction that joins them must be preceded by a comma. Otherwise you’ll have a run-on sentence.

    Run-on sentences are one of the most common errors in college-level writing. Mastering the partnership between commas and coordinating conjunctions will go a long way towards resolving many run-on sentence issues in your writing. We’ll talk more about run-ons a strategies to avoid them in Text: Run-on Sentences.

    Rule 2: Joining Two Similar Items

    So what if there’s only one complete idea, but two subjects or two verbs?

    1. Any external injury or internal injury put patients at risk of uncontrolled bleeding because the small clots that formed throughout the circulatory system used up so much of the clotting factor.
    2. In the 1960s, artificial heart devices did not fit well and tended to obstruct the flow of venous blood into the right atrium.

    The first sentence has two subjects: external injury and internal injury. They are joined with the conjunction and. The second sentence has two verbs: did not fit well and tended to obstruct. They are joined with the conjunction and. In both sentences, we don’t need any additional punctuation.

    Rule 3: Joining Three or More Similar Items

    What do you do if there are three or more items?

    • Anna loves to run, David loves to hike, and Luz loves to dance.
    • Fishing, hunting, and gathering were once the only ways for people do get food.
    • Emanuel has a very careful schedule planned for tomorrow. He needs to work, study, exercise, eat, and clean.

    As you can see in the examples above, there is a comma after each item, including the item just prior to the conjunction. There is a little bit of contention about this, but overall, most styles prefer to keep the additional comma (also called the serial comma). We discuss the serial comma in more depth in Text: Commas.

    Starting a Sentence

    Many students are taught—and some style guides maintain—that English sentences should not start with coordinating conjunctions. However, this is not true. Students are often advised away from this in order to prevent sentence fragments, but there is nothing wrong with starting a sentence with a coordinating conjunction.

    Adverbial Conjunctions

    Icon of two thought bubblesAdverbial conjunctions link two separate thoughts or sentences. When used to separate thoughts, as in the example below, a comma is required on either side of the conjunction. When used to separate complete ideas (items with both a subject and a verb), a semi-colon is required before the conjunction and a comma after.

    • The first artificial hearts were made of smooth silicone rubber, which apparently caused excessive clotting and, therefore, uncontrolled bleeding.
    • The Kedeco produces 1200 watts in 17 mph winds using a 16-foot rotor; on the other hand, the Dunlite produces 2000 watts in 25 mph winds.

    Adverbial conjunctions include the following words; however, it is important to note that this is by no means a complete list.

    therefore however in other words
    thus then otherwise
    nevertheless on the other hand in fact

    Correlative Conjunctions

    a balanced scaleCorrelative conjunctions are word pairs that work together to join words and groups of words of equal weight in a sentence. This video will define this types of conjunction before it goes through five of the most common correlative conjunctions:

    Thumbnail for the embedded element "Correlative conjunctions | The parts of speech | Grammar | Khan Academy"

    A YouTube element has been excluded from this version of the text. You can view it online here: http://pb.libretexts.org/ec1/?p=364

    The table below shows some examples of correlative conjunctions being used in a sentence:

    Correlative Conjunction Example
    either . . . or You either do your work or prepare for a trip to the office. (Either do, or prepare)
    neither . . . nor Neither the basketball team nor the football team is doing well.
    not only . . . but (also) He is not only handsome, but also brilliant. (Not only A, but also B)
    Not only is he handsome, but also he is brilliant. (Not only is he A, but also he is B.)
    both . . . and Both the cross country team and the swimming team are doing well.
    whether . . . or You must decide whether you stay or you go. (It’s up to you)
    Whether you stay or you go, the film must start at 8 pm. (It’s not up to you)
    just as . . . so Just as many Americans love basketball, so many Canadians love ice hockey.
    as much . . . as Football is as much an addiction as it is a sport.
    no sooner . . . than No sooner did she learn to ski, than the snow began to thaw.
    rather . . . than I would rather swim than surf.
    the . . . the The more you practice dribbling, the better you will be at it.
    as . . . as Football is as fast as hockey (is (fast)).

    Subordinating Conjunctions

    an unbalanced scaleSubordinating conjunctions, are conjunctions that join an independent clause and a dependent clause. Here are some examples of subordinating conjunctions:

    • The heart undergoes two cardiac cycle periods: diastole, when blood enters the ventricles, and systole, when the ventricles contract and blood is pumped out of the heart.
    • Whenever an electron acquires enough energy to leave its orbit, the atom is positively charged.
    • She did the favor so that he would owe her one.

    Let’s take a moment to look back at the previous examples. Can you see the pattern in comma usage? The commas aren’t dependent on the presence subordinating conjunctions—they’re dependent on the placement of clauses they’re in. Let’s revisit a couple examples and see if we can figure out the exact rules:

    • The heart undergoes two cardiac cycle periods: diastole, when blood enters the ventricles, and systole, when the ventricles contract and blood is pumped out of the heart.
      • These clauses are both extra information: information that is good to know, but not necessary for the meaning of the sentence. This means they need commas on either side.
    • Whenever an electron acquires enough energy to leave its orbit, the atom is positively charged.
      • In this sentence, the dependent clause comes before an independent clause. This means it should be followed by a comma.
    • She did the favor so that he would owe her one.
      • In this sentence, the independent clause comes before an dependent clause. This means no comma is required.

    The most common subordinating conjunctions in the English language are shown in the table below:

    after although as as far as as if as long as as soon as
    as though because before even if even though every time if
    in order that since so so that than though unless
    until when whenever where whereas wherever  while

    Practice

    All of the conjunctions have been removed from the following passage. Which conjunctions would best fill the gaps? Explain your reasoning why. The sentences have been numbered to aid you in your comments.

    (1) Karni’s roommate, Joana, decided to drive to work; _____, Karni rode into the city with her. (2) They needed to turn left on 140th Street, _____ that street was under construction. (3) _____ Karni could say anything, _____, Joana had already found an alternate route.

    (4) _____ did Karni arrive at work, _____ her boss told her she would be working with her coworker Ian on her next project. (5) Karni was really impressed by Ian’s professional accomplishments, _____ she was anxious about working with him. (6) Karni thought Ian was annoying, unpredictable, _____ reckless.

    (7) _____, Karni was willing to put aside her opinions to get the job done. (8) She knew Ian would put in his best effort _____ they worked together, _____ she felt she could do no less—_____ he frustrated her. (9) Personal relationships are often _____ important _____ professional skills.

    [practice-area rows=”4″][/practice-area]
    [reveal-answer q=”769106″]Show Answer[/reveal-answer]
    [hidden-answer a=”769106″]Here are the sentences with suggested conjunctions. These are not the only possible solutions. If you answered something different, compare your reasoning with the reasoning provided below.

    1. Karni’s roommate, Joana, decided to drive to work; therefore, Karni rode into the city with her.
      • As the punctuation currently exists (a semicolon followed by a comma), the sentence needs an adverbial conjunction. However, using therefore here feels a little stuffy. If you change the semicolon to a comma and remove the second comma, you can then use the coordinating conjunction so instead, which feels more natural: “. . . , so Karni rode into the city with her.”
    2. They needed to turn left on 140th Street, but that street was under construction.
      • Since the blank is preceded only by a comma, a coordinating conjunction should go here. The conjunction but has the most appropriate meaning in this sentence.
    3. Before Karni could say anything, however, Joana had already found an alternate route.
      • Since there is no comma after the first blank, we know we need a subordinating conjunction here. Before makes the most sense here.
      • Since this blank appears in the middle of an idea, we know we need an adverbial conjunction here. However makes the most sense here.
    4. No sooner did Karni arrive at work, than her boss told her she would be working with her coworker Ian on her next project.
      • The two blanks in this sentence indicate a correlative conjunction. The sentence indicates the two things happened at the same time, so no sooner . . . than is the correct option here.
    5. Karni was really impressed by Ian’s professional accomplishments, but she was anxious about working with him.
      • Since the blank is preceded only by a comma, a coordinating conjunction should go here. The conjunction but has the most appropriate meaning in this sentence.
    6. Karni thought Ian was annoying, unpredictable, and reckless.
      • Since the blank is preceded only by a comma, a coordinating conjunction should go here. The conjunction and has the most appropriate meaning in this sentence.
    7. However, Karni was willing to put aside her opinions to get the job done.
      • Since the blank is followed by a comma, we know we need an adverbial conjunction here. However makes the most sense here.
    8. She knew Ian would put in his best effort while they worked together, so she felt she could do no less—even if he frustrated her.
      • Since there is no comma before or after the first blank, we know we need a subordinating conjunction here. While makes the most sense here, but as long as or if would also work.
      • Since the blank is preceded only by a comma, a coordinating conjunction should go here. The conjunction so has the most appropriate meaning in this sentence.
      • This blank is a little trickier; it is preceded by a dash, which can stand in for a lot of different punctuation marks. A subordinating conjunction is likely the best solution. We’ve used even if here, but there are a lot of possibilities, including even though.
    9. Personal relationships are often as important as professional skills.
      • The two blanks in this sentence indicate a correlative conjunction. The sentence indicates the two things of equal importance, so as . . . as is the correct option here.

    [/hidden-answer]

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