CONJUNCTIONS

Preview  If we cross of all the noun, pronoun, adjectives, verbs, adverbs, and prepositions in the following sentences, what are we left with?  I finished my homework and practiced the trumpet.  Will you go to the game or babysit your sister?  For dinner, I ordered a salad and a bowl of soup.  I wanted a new bike, so I had to find a job.

Conjunctions  The words left over are called conjunctions.  A conjunction is a word used to join together words or groups of words.  There are three types of conjunctions:  Coordinating conjunctions  Correlative conjunctions  Subordinating conjunctions

Coordinating conjunctions  A coordinating conjunction joins together words or groups of words that are used in the same way.  By “same way,” we usually mean that the words are the same part of speech, or sometimes that they are the same type of phrase or clause.

Coordinating conjunctions, examples  Joining together two nouns:  Give this letter to your mom and dad.  Joining together two adjectives:  He is excited yet nervous about the game.  Joining together two phrases:  I went to the movies and to my friend’s house.  Joining together two clauses:  My sister can be really fun, but she can also be cruel sometimes.

 There are seven coordinating conjunctions:  For  And  Nor  But  Or  Yet  So

Practice  Get there quickly but carefully.  We will buy a cat or a dog.  They went to the mall and to the library.

Practice  The car is very nice, but it doesn’t get good gas mileage.  We hiked through the forest and across the river.  They are tired but happy.

Correlative conjunctions  Correlative conjunctions are just like coordinating conjunctions, except that instead of one word, correlative conjunctions consists of a pair of two words.  Correlative conjunctions are pairs of conjunctions that join words or word groups that are used in the same way.

Correlative conjunctions  The five pairs of correlative conjunctions are:  both… and  either… or  neither… nor  whether… or  not only… but also

What this looks like  Both Kristin and Jessica are moving to San Francisco.  They not only won the game but also clinched a spot in the district tournament.  I will either go to the game or watch it on TV.  I can’t decide whether to work out or study for my test after school.

Practice  They brought both cake and brownies to the birthday party.  I don’t know whether to take the bus or find a ride to school.  Either help me cook dinner, or wash the dishes after we finish.

Practice  Not only was she late, but also she forgot to bring her part of the project.  Both Tim and I watched Monday Night Football.  Neither David nor I will be able to go to the movies with you guys.