Understanding Conjunctions

Have you ever imagined building a brick house without using any cement? The bricks could be stacked, but the house wouldn’t be strong and would easily fall apart.

In English, short sentences are the bricks, and Conjunctions are the cement. Without conjunctions, we could only speak using short, choppy sentences that sound robotic.

  • Without Conjunctions: I like apples. I like oranges. I don’t like bananas.
  • With Conjunctions: I like apples and oranges, but I don’t like bananas.

It sounds much more flowing and natural, doesn’t it?

What is a Conjunction?

A Conjunction is a word that functions as glue to connect words, phrases, or clauses (parts of a sentence) into one cohesive sentence.

Besides just connecting, conjunctions also provide a meaningful relationship between the parts they connect. There are conjunctions that show addition (and), contrast (but), choice (or), or cause-and-effect (because).

The 3 (Actually 4) Main Types of Conjunctions

To be able to construct beautiful complex sentences, we need to understand the different “types of glue” available in English. Broadly speaking, conjunctions are divided into 3 main categories, plus one special category:

1. Coordinating Conjunctions

This is the most basic group of conjunctions. Their job is to connect two elements that are grammatically equal (e.g., connecting a noun to a noun, or an independent sentence to an independent sentence). You might often hear them referred to by the acronym FANBOYS (For, And, Nor, But, Or, Yet, So). Learn Coordinating Conjunctions here

2. Subordinating Conjunctions

This group is much broader and more complex. Its main job is to connect an independent clause (a sentence that can stand alone) with a dependent clause (a sentence that cannot stand alone). Because there are so many, we will break them down into several functions:

3. Correlative Conjunctions

These are conjunctions that always work in pairs. They cannot be separated, just like a pair of shoes. Examples: Either… or…, Both… and… Learn Correlative Conjunctions here

4. Special Category: Conjunctive Adverbs

As the name suggests, they are actually adverbs but function to bridge ideas between two full sentences, such as however, therefore, meanwhile. Learn Conjunctive Adverbs here

Let’s start our journey of gluing sentences together with the simplest ones: Coordinating Conjunctions (FANBOYS).