Conjunctions are the words that connect words, phrases, and clauses, such as and, but, because, and or. English has 3 types: coordinating, subordinating, and correlative conjunctions.
All English words can be sorted into word classes. Other articles look at the biggest and best-known of them, such as nouns and verbs. The word class in this article is less well known, but just as important for everyday writing and conversation: conjunctions.
Here is what they are and what they do, with a list of conjunctions that you use all the time without even noticing.
What are conjunctions?
Conjunctions connect parts of a sentence. These parts can be words or phrases, but also whole clauses and sentences. The conjunction links them and shows how they relate to each other. Conjunctions belong to the closed word classes, which means that new words of this kind are rarely added to the language.
There are different types of conjunctions, depending on what they link and how:
- Coordinating conjunctions connect words, phrases, or clauses of equal grammatical rank: and, but, or, nor, for, so, yet. Example: "I wanted to go, but it was raining."
- Subordinating conjunctions link a dependent clause to an independent one: because, although, if, when, since, unless. Example: "We stayed inside because it was raining."
- Correlative conjunctions work in pairs and connect two parts that are equally important in a sentence: either with or, neither with nor, both with and, and not only with but also. Example: "Neither the bus nor the train was on time."
(The difference between a clause and a phrase is explained in differences between clauses and phrases.)
When to use them
Conjunctions have several uses. Here are the main ones, with examples:
- Listing things: "We bought eggs, flour, and vanilla extract for the cookies."
- Connecting thoughts, actions, or ideas: "He left the house and went straight to the gym."
- Relating things to each other: "She was late because the train did not come on time."
The relation, as in the last example, can have different meanings:
- a cause or explanation (because, since)
- a consequence (so)
- a contrast (but, although, yet)
- a condition (if, unless)
- an exception (except that)
- a time (when, before, after)
Parallel structure
The parts that a conjunction joins should have the same grammatical form. When they do, the sentence is balanced and correct. Compare these two examples:
- Not parallel: "I tried to do it precisely and was careful."
- Parallel: "I tried to do it precisely and carefully."
In the second sentence, and joins two adverbs, precisely and carefully, so both parts match.
List of conjunctions
Here is a list of the conjunctions most commonly used in English:
- and
- as
- because
- but
- for
- just as, often paired with so
- or
- neither, paired with nor
- nor
- not only, paired with but also
- so
- whether, often paired with or
- yet
Some words that link sentences, such as however and therefore, are not conjunctions but conjunctive adverbs. Here is how to use conjunctive adverbs.