Linking Words/ Conjunctions

 Linking Words/ Conjunctions

Conjunctions are words that link other words, phrases, or clauses together.

Kinds of conjunctions

Conjunctions or Linking Words are divided into two classes: coordinating conjunctions and subordinating conjunctions.

Read the following sentence:

Birds fly and fish swim.

This sentence contains two independent statements or two statements of equal rank or importance. The conjunction that joins together two clauses of equal rank is called a coordinating conjunction.

Notes

Coordinating conjunctions generally connect sentence elements of the same grammatical class. Examples: nouns with nouns, adverbs with adverbs, phrases with phrases and clauses with clauses.

Jack and Jill went up the hill. (Here the coordinating conjunction and connects two nouns.) He worked diligently and patiently. (Here the coordinating conjunction and connects two adverbs.)

The chief coordinating conjunctions are: and, but, for, or, nor, also, either…or, neither…nor.

Kinds of coordinating conjunctions

Coordinating conjunctions are of four kinds.

Cumulative or copulative conjunctions

 Adversative conjunctions 

Disjunctive or alternative conjunctions

 Illative conjunctions

Cumulative conjunctions

Cumulative conjunctions merely add one statement to another. Examples are: and, both…and, as well as, not only…but also.

Alice wrote the letters and Peter posted them. 

The cow got up and walked away slowly.

Adversative conjunctions

Adversative conjunctions express contrast between two statements. Examples are: but, still, yet, whereas, while, nevertheless etc.

The rope was thin but it was strong. 

She is poor but she is happy. 

He is hardworking whereas his brother is quite the reverse.

Disjunctive or alternative conjunctions

Conjunctions which present two alternatives are called disjunctive or alternative conjunctions. Examples are: or, either…or, neither…nor, neither, nor, otherwise, else etc.

She must weep, or she will die. 

Either he is mad, or he feigns madness. 

They toil not, neither do they spin. 

Neither a borrower, nor a lender be.

Illative conjunctions

Some coordinating conjunctions express something inferred from another statement or fact. These are called illative conjunctions. Examples are: for and so.

Somebody came, for I heard a knock at the door. 

He must be asleep, for there is no light in his room. 

He has been working hard, so he will pass.

Practice Exercice

• Would you rather have cheese _____ bologna on your sandwich?

• His two favourite sports are football ______ tennis.

• I wanted to go to the beach, _______ Mary refused.

• I am allergic to cats, ______ I have three of them.

• I am a vegetarian, _______ I don’t eat any meat.

• Thomas will be late to work, _____ he has a dental appointment.

• Jennifer does not like to swim, ____ does she enjoy cycling.

• Jackson wanted to eat another piece of cake, ____ he was on a diet.

Subordinating Conjunctions

• Subordinating conjunctions can be found in sentences containing two clauses: an independent or main clause and a dependent clause.

• They must come at the beginning of a dependent clause.

• Subordinators help lend meaning to a sentence by linking two ideas. Time, concession, comparison, cause, condition, and place are the types of subordinating conjunctions, categorized by meaning.

• In most sentences, as long as the subordinating conjunction precedes the dependent clause, clause order does not matter.

Subordinating conjunctions are also known as subordinators, subordinate conjunctions, and complementizers. Many subordinators are single words such as because, before, and when, but some subordinating conjunctions consist of more than one word such as even though, as long as, and except that.

Semantic Categories of Subordinating Conjunctions

As demonstrated, conjunctions can bring different layers of meaning to writing by building relationships between clauses. There are six main classes of conjunctions, categorized by meaning: time, concession, comparison, cause, condition, and place.

Time

Time-related conjunctions establish a period when the main clause will be or was performed. These include after, as soon as, as long as, before, once, still, until, when, whenever, and while. For example, "I will do the dishes after everyone has gone home" might be stated by a hostess who prefers to enjoy her guests' company while they are there.

Concession

Concession conjunctions help to redefine the main clause by providing additional context regarding conditions of delivery. Concession conjunctions highlight an action that took place in spite of an obstacle or hindrance and they include although, as though, and even though. An example would be, "Eliza wrote the Higgins report even though it was assigned to Colonel Pickering."

Comparison

Similarly, comparison conjunctions—which include just as, though, whereas, in contrast to, and while—help to establish correlations by providing context for comparison. "Ellen vlogged about the results of the political meeting, in contrast to her arch-enemy who merely blogged."

Cause

Cause conjunctions illuminate the reason(s) that the activities of a main clause were performed and are commonly engineered using as, because, in order that, since, and so that. "Grant dreamed about cheese because he had eaten so much of it the night before."

Condition

Condition conjunctions introduce rules under which a main clause performs. These are indicated by even if, if, in case, provided that, and unless. "If he's going to be there, I'm not going to the party." Often, subordinate clauses come first in conditional sentences but they are still dependent on the main clause and cannot exist outside of it.

Place

Place conjunctions, which determine where activities might occur, include where, wherever, and whereas. "I will place my conjunction in the sentence wherever I please."

Examples of Subordinating Conjunctions

Subordinating conjunctions are not hard to find when you know where to look for them. Use these quotes to get started.

• "Mr. Bennet was so odd a mixture of quick parts, sarcastic humor, reserve, and caprice, that the experience of three-and-twenty years had been insufficient to make his wife understand his character." -Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice

• "I am always doing that which I can not do, in order that I may learn how to do it." -Pablo Picasso

• "If you want to change the world, start with yourself." -Mahatma Gahndi

• "When life gives you lemons, make lemonade." –Anonymous

 

 

Practice Exercises

• I will help the man. He deserves it.

• Mary came up. We were talking about her.

• I admire Mr. Brown. He is my enemy.

• I came. You sent for me.

• Evelyn will come to school. She is able.

• He knows he is wrong. He will not admit it.

• The man is rich. He is unhappy.

• The Mexican War came on. Polk was president.

• I shall come tomorrow. You sent for me.

• You wish to be believed. You must tell the truth.

• The dog bites. He ought to be muzzled.

• It would be foolish to set out. It is raining.

• Call me at my office. You happen to be in town.

• The cat ran up a tree. She was chased by a dog.

• The sun shines brightly. It is very cold.