Plan: 1 Coordinating conjunctions

Grammatical conjunction

Plan:

1 Coordinating conjunctions
2 Correlative conjunctions
3 Subordinating conjunctions

In grammar, a conjunction (abbreviated conj or cnj) is a part of speech that connects two words, sentences, phrases or clauses together. This definition may overlap with that of other parts of speech, so what constitutes a "conjunction" should be defined for each language. In general, a conjunction is an invariable grammatical particle, and it may or may not stand between the items it conjoins.

The definition can also be extended to idiomatic phrases that behave as a unit with the same function as a single-word conjunction (as well as, provided that, etc.).
Coordinating conjunctions

Coordinating conjunctions, also called coordinators, are conjunctions that join two or more items of equal syntactic importance, such as words, main clauses, or sentences. In English the mnemonic acronym FANBOYS can be used to remember the coordinators for, and, nor, but, or, yet, and so.[1][2] These are not the only coordinating conjunctions; various others are used, including[3]:ch. 9[4]:p. 171 "and nor" (British), "but nor" (British), "or nor"(British), "neither" ("They don't gamble; neither do they smoke"), "no more" ("They don't gamble; no more do they smoke"), and "only" ("Can we perform? Only if we practice").

Here are the meanings and some examples of coordinating conjunctions in English:
for: presents a reason ("He is gambling with his health, for he has been smoking far too long.") (though "for" is more commonly used as a preposition)
and: presents non-contrasting item(s) or idea(s) ("They gamble, and they smoke.")
nor: presents a non-contrasting negative idea ("They don't gamble, nor do they smoke.")
but: presents a contrast or exception ("They gamble, but they don't smoke.")
or: presents an alternate item or idea ("Every day they gamble, or they smoke.")
yet: presents a contrast or exception ("They gamble, yet they don't smoke.")
so: presents a consequence ("He gambled well last night, so he smoked a cigar to celebrate.")
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Correlative conjunctions

Correlative conjunctions are pairs of conjunctions that work together to coordinate two items. English examples include both…and, [n]either…[n]or, and not [only]…but [also], whether... or.

Examples:
Either do your work or prepare for a trip to the office.
Not only is he handsome but he is also brilliant.
Neither the basketball team nor the football team is doing well.
Both the cross country team and the swimming team are doing well.
Whether you stay or go is your decision.
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Subordinating conjunctions

Subordinating conjunctions, also called subordinators, are conjunctions that introduce a dependent clause. The most common subordinating conjunctions in the English language include the following: after, although, as much as, as long as, as soon as, because, before, if, in order that, lest, since, so that, than, that, though, unless, until, when, whenever, where, wherever, whether, and while. Complementizers can be considered to be special subordinating conjunctions that introduce complement clauses (e.g., "I wonder whether he'll be late. I hope that he'll be on time"). Some subordinating conjunctions (until, while), when used to introduce a phrase instead of a full clause, become prepositions with identical meanings.

In many verb-final languages, subordinate clauses must precede the main clause on which they depend. The equivalents to the subordinating conjunctions of non-verb-final languages such as English are either
clause-final conjunctions (e.g. in Japanese), or
suffixes attached to the verb and not separate words[5]

Such languages in fact often lack conjunctions as a part of speech because:

the form of the verb used is formally nominalised and cannot occur in an independent clause
the clause-final conjunction or suffix attached to the verb is actually formally a marker of case and is also used on nouns to indicate certain functions. In this sense, the subordinate clauses of these languages have much in common with postpositional phrases.

In other West-Germanic languages like German or Dutch, the word order after a subordinating conjunction is different from the one in an independent clause, e.g. in Dutch want (for) is coordinating, but omdat (because) is subordinating. Compare:

Hij gaat naar huis, want hij is ziek. – He goes home, for he is ill.
Hij gaat naar huis, omdat hij ziek is. – He goes home because he is ill.

Similarly, in German, "denn" (for) is coordinating, but "weil" (because) is subordating:

Er geht nach Hause, denn er ist krank. – He goes home, for he is ill.
Er geht nach Hause, weil er krank ist. – He goes home because he is ill.

Conjunctions

A conjunction is a word that "joins". A conjunction joins two parts of a sentence.

Here are some example conjunctions:Coordinating Conjunctions Subordinating Conjunctions

and, but, or, nor, for, yet, so although, because, since, unless

We can consider conjunctions from three aspects.

Form

Conjunctions have three basic forms:

Single Word
for example: and, but, because, although

Compound (often ending with as or that)

for example: provided that, as long as, in order that

Correlative (surrounding an adverb or adjective)

for example: so...that
Function

Conjunctions have two basic functions or "jobs":

Coordinating conjunctions are used to join two parts of a sentence that are grammatically equal. The two parts may be single words or clauses, for example:
- Jack and Jill went up the hill.
- The water was warm, but I didn't go swimming.

Subordinating conjunctions are used to join a subordinate dependent clause to a main clause, for example:

- I went swimming although it was cold.
Position
Coordinating conjunctions always come between the words or clauses that they join.

Subordinating conjunctions usually come at the beginning of the subordinate clause.

In this lesson we will look in more detail at:

(It may help you remember these conjunctions by recalling that they all have fewer than four letters. Also, remember the acronym FANBOYS: For-And-Nor-But-Or-Yet-So. Be careful of the words then and now; neither is a coordinating conjunction, so what we say about coordinating conjunctions' roles in a sentence and punctuation does not apply to those two words.)

Click on "Conjunction Junction" to read and hear Bob Dorough's "Conjunction Junction" (from Scholastic Rock, 1973). Schoolhouse Rock® and its characters and o ther elements are trademarks and service marks of American Broadcasting Companies, Inc. Used with permission.

When a coordinating conjunction connects two independent clauses, it is often (but not always) accompanied by a comma:

• 
  Ulysses wants to play for UConn, but he has had trouble meeting the academic requirements.
  

When the two independent clauses connected by a coordinating conjunction are nicely balanced or brief, many writers will omit the comma:

• 
  Ulysses has a great jump shot but he isn't quick on his feet.
  

The comma is always correct when used to separate two independent clauses connected by a coordinating conjunction. See Punctuation Between Two Independent Clauses for further help.
A comma is also correct when and is used to attach the last item of a serial list, although many writers (especially in newspapers) will omit that final comma:

• 
  Ulysses spent his summer studying basic math, writing, and reading comprehension.
  

When a coordinating conjunction is used to connect all the elements in a series, a comma is not used:

• 
  Presbyterians and Methodists and Baptists are the prevalent Protestant congregations in Oklahoma.
  

A comma is also used with but when expressing a contrast:

• 
  This is a useful rule, but difficult to remember.
  

In most of their other roles as joiners (other than joining independent clauses, that is), coordinating conjunctions can join two sentence elements without the help of a comma.

• 
  Hemingway and Fitzgerald are among the American expatriates of the between-the-wars era.
  
• 
  Hemingway was renowned for his clear style and his insights into American notions of male identity.
  
• 
  It is hard to say whether Hemingway or Fitzgerald is the more interesting cultural icon of his day.
  
• 
  Although Hemingway is sometimes disparaged for his unpleasant portrayal of women and for his glorification of machismo, we nonetheless find some sympathetic, even heroic, female figures in his novels and short stories.
  

Beginning a Sentence with And or But

A frequently asked question about conjunctions is whether and or but can be used at the beginning of a sentence. This is what R.W. Burchfield has to say about this use of and: There is a persistent belief that it is improper to begin a sentence with And, but this prohibition has been cheerfully ignored by standard authors from Anglo-Saxon times onwards. An initial And is a useful aid to writers as the narrative continues. from The New Fowler's Modern English Usage edited by R.W. Burchfield. Clarendon Press: Oxford, England. 1996. Used with the permission of Oxford University Press. The same is true with the conjunction but. A sentence beginning with and or but will tend to draw attention to itself and its transitional function. Writers should examine such sentences with two questions in mind: (1) would the sentence and paragraph function just as well without the initial conjunction? (2) should the sentence in question be connected to the previous sentence? If the initial conjunction still seems appropriate, use it.

Among the coordinating conjunctions, the most common, of course, are and, but, and or. It might be helpful to explore the uses of these three little words. The examples below by no means exhaust the possible meanings of these conjunctions.
AND

1. 
   To suggest that one idea is chronologically sequential to another: "Tashonda sent in her applications and waited by the phone for a response."
   
2. 
   To suggest that one idea is the result of another: "Willie heard the weather report and promptly boarded up his house."
   
3. 
   To suggest that one idea is in contrast to another (frequently replaced by but in this usage): "Juanita is brilliant and Shalimar has a pleasant personality.
   
4. 
   To suggest an element of surprise (sometimes replaced by yet in this usage): "Hartford is a rich city and suffers from many symptoms of urban blight."
   
5. 
   To suggest that one clause is dependent upon another, conditionally (usually the first clause is an imperative): "Use your credit cards frequently and you'll soon find yourself deep in debt."
   
6. 
   To suggest a kind of "comment" on the first clause: "Charlie became addicted to gambling — and that surprised no one who knew him."
   

BUT

1. 
   To suggest a contrast that is unexpected in light of the first clause: "Joey lost a fortune in the stock market, but he still seems able to live quite comfortably."
   
2. 
   To suggest in an affirmative sense what the first part of the sentence implied in a negative way (sometimes replaced by on the contrary): "The club never invested foolishly, but used the services of a sage investment counselor."
   
3. 
   To connect two ideas with the meaning of "with the exception of" (and then the second word takes over as subject): "Everybody but Goldenbreath is trying out for the team."
   

OR

1. 
   To suggest that only one possibility can be realized, excluding one or the other: "You can study hard for this exam or you can fail."
   
2. 
   To suggest the inclusive combination of alternatives: "We can broil chicken on the grill tonight, or we can just eat leftovers.
   
3. 
   To suggest a refinement of the first clause: "Smith College is the premier all-women's college in the country, or so it seems to most Smith College alumnae."
   
4. 
   To suggest a restatement or "correction" of the first part of the sentence: "There are no rattlesnakes in this canyon, or so our guide tells us."
   
5. 
   To suggest a negative condition: "The New Hampshire state motto is the rather grim "Live free or die."
   
6. 
   To suggest a negative alternative without the use of an imperative (see use of and above): "They must approve his political style or they wouldn't keep electing him mayor."
   

Authority used for this section on the uses of and, but, and or: A University Grammar of English by Randolph Quirk and Sidney Greenbaum. Longman Group: Essex, England. 1993. Used with permission. Examples our own.
The Others . . .
The conjunction NOR is not extinct, but it is not used nearly as often as the other conjunctions, so it might feel a bit odd when nor does come up in conversation or writing. Its most common use is as the little brother in the correlative pair, neither-nor (see below):

• 
  He is neither sane nor brilliant.
  
• 
  That is neither what I said nor what I meant.
  

>It can be used with other negative expressions:

• 
  That is not what I meant to say, nor should you interpret my statement as an admission of guilt.
  

It is possible to use nor without a preceding negative element, but it is unusual and, to an extent, rather stuffy:

• 
  George's handshake is as good as any written contract, nor has he ever proven untrustworthy.
  

The word YET functions sometimes as an adverb and has several meanings: in addition ("yet another cause of trouble" or "a simple yet noble woman"), even ("yet more expensive"), still ("he is yet a novice"), eventually ("they may yet win"), and so soon as now ("he's not here yet"). It also functions as a coordinating conjunction meaning something like "nevertheless" or "but." The word yet seems to carry an element of distinctiveness that but can seldom register.

• 
  John plays basketball well, yet his favorite sport is badminton.
  
• 
  The visitors complained loudly about the heat, yet they continued to play golf every day.
  

In sentences such as the second one, above, the pronoun subject of the second clause ("they," in this case) is often left out. When that happens, the comma preceding the conjunction might also disappear: "The visitors complained loudly yet continued to play golf every day."