ConjunctionsWendy Alicia Figueroa

CarloClarianne Moscoso

Laila Mia Crane Bared

Review: Clauses• In order to understand conjunctions, one must grasp the

concept of clauses.

• Clauses are groups of words that have both a subject and a predicate. There are two main types of clauses:

• Independent clauses (also called principal or main clauses) can stand alone as complete sentences. Example: “Laila circumvented her responsibilities”.

• Dependent clauses (also called subordinate clauses) express ideas or information related to the independent clauses, and cannot stand alone as complete sentences. Example: “Laila circumvented her responsibilities because she lied to her mother to go partying with me”. The blue part of the sentence is the dependant clause.

What are Conjunctions?

• Conjunctions are words that join other words, phrases, clauses, and sentences. There are three main types of conjunctions:

• Coordinating conjunctions• Subordinating conjunctions• Correlative conjunctions

• A conjunctive adverb (such as also, besides, consequently, indeed, and therefore) is sometimes known as an Adverbial conjunction.

Coordinating Conjunctions• Coordinating conjunctions join words, phrases, and

sentences. They typically join two main clauses. These are: and, but, for, nor, so, or, and yet.

• Example: “The plans to build the new mall were put in abeyance, so for the time being Plaza Las Americas will be the only mall in Hato Rey”

• In this sentence, the coordinating conjunction “so” joins two separate sentences “The plans to build the new mall were put in abeyance.” and “For the time being Plaza Las Americas will be the only mall in Hato Rey.”

• When joining two things that could be sentences on their own with a coordinating conjunction, you usually need a comma before the conjunction.

Subordinating Conjunctions• Subordinating conjunctions join dependent clauses

to independent clauses. Words that can be used as subordinating conjunctions are: after, although, as, as if, because, before, for, if once, since, so, so that, than, that, though, till, unless, until, when, whenever, where, whereas, wherever, whether, while.

• Example: “Unless he gets a good grade on his math test, Zuniga will be abstemious at dinner. ”

• The subordinating conjunction unless joins the dependent clause “he gets a good grade on his math test” to the independent clause “Zuniga will be abstemious at dinner”.

Correlative Conjunctions

• Correlative conjunctions are like coordinating conjunctions, except that they come in matched pairs: either/or, neither/nor, both/and, not only/but also, and whether/or.

• Example: “The meaning of that poem not only eludes me, but also confuses me.”

Adverbial Conjunction• Is an adverb (such as also, besides,

consequently, indeed, and therefore) that links two main clauses.

• The difference between an adverbial conjunction and a coordinating conjunction is that the word that unites both clauses is used as an adverb in the case of an adverbial conjunction.

• Example: “Diego evaded paying taxes; consequently, he had to serve jail time”.

Exercise #1

• Which one of these sentences is correct?

• a) The student has eschewed reading novels; therefore, she will fail the class.

• b) The student eschews reading novels so she will fail.

Answer #1• The correct answer is a). The adverb is

correctly used “therefore” is used together with a semicolon to join two independent clauses.

• b) is incorrect because the word “so” is used as a coordinating conjunction. There is no comma before the conjunction, so it is a run-on sentence.

Exercise #2• Which one of these sentences is

correct?

• a) The malingerer did not show up to work for days yet he was seen at the company party.

• b) Not only did the malingerer miss many days of work, but also he never called in sick.

Answer #2

• The correct answer is b). There are two independent clauses that are joined by a comma and a correlative conjunction (not only/ but also).

• a) is a run-on sentence. Although it has a coordinating conjunction (yet), it lacks a comma.

Exercise #3• Which sentence is correct?

• a) Matthew’s parents were called in for a conference, consequently, his responses concerning his cheating ceased to be oblique.

• b) Neither did Matthew told the truth, nor did he speak in a less oblique way.

Answer #3

• The correct answer is: • b). There two independent

clauses joined by a comma and a conjunction.

• a) is incorrect because it is a run-on sentence. It can be fixed with a semicolon before the adverb “consequently”.

Exercise # 4• Which sentence is correct?• a) Homosexuals are sometimes

shunned by their society, so they are afraid to talk their parents about their sexual orientation.

• b) Whether homosexuals talk to their parents about their sexual orientation, or they keep quiet so as not to upset them, homosexuals are frequently shunned by their parents.

Answer #4

• Both sentences are correct. They are both composed of two independent clauses.

• a) is joined by a comma and a coordinating conjunction, while sentence b) is joined by a comma and a correlative conjunction. They are both punctuated correctly.

Exercise # 5• Which sentence is correct?

• a) Until Gabriela matures, she will probably continue to shirk her responsibilities.

• b) Gabriela shirks her responsibilities therefore she is considered lazy by her classmates.

Answer #5

• The correct answer is sentence a), which uses a subordinating conjunction (unless) correctly and with proper punctuation.

• Sentence b) is incorrect. The adverbial conjunction (therefore) is not preceded by a comma, creating a run-on sentence.

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