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· 10 Jan 2022

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What is Conjunction

Conjunction is a part of speech. A part of speech is a category according to which a word is assigned in a particular category of words based on its functions and rules. Noun, pronoun, adjective, verb, adverb, preposition, conjunction, and interjection are the main parts of speech.

What is a conjunction?
A conjunction is a word which is used to join or connect words, phrases, clauses and sentences. Conjunctions allow you to make elegant and complex sentences. It helps in avoiding the multiple series of short sentences. It enhances the beauty of the sentence structure. Let’s understand with the examples:
1.    I like eating. I like drinking.
Now, here are two sentences. To avoid the choppiness and series of sentences, it can be said that-
I like eating and drinking.
Therefore, the conjunction here used is and. Let’s see another example.

2.    I like eating. I like drinking. I do not like cooking.
Now these three sentences can be written a different way by using some conjunctions such as-
I like eating and drinking but I do not like cooking.
In the sentence above, and and but are the conjunctions.

In the English language, there are many conjunctions, however the common conjunctions may include and, or, but, because, for, if, and when. There are mainly three types of conjunctions which are coordinating, subordinating and correlative. Let’s understand what they are one by one.

1.    Coordinating conjunction: Coordinating conjunctions are those words which allow you to join words, phrases, and clauses of same or equal grammatical place in a sentence. For, and, nor, but, or, yet, and so are the most common coordinating conjunctions. These can be easily remembered by using the mnemonic device FANBOYS.

Rules to remember:
a.    A comma must not be used when joining two words or phrases with a coordinating conjunction. Eg. She usually visits her brother or sister.
b.    A comma must be used when joining two independent clauses. Eg. She usually visits her brother, but when it is urgent she sees her sister.

2.  Subordinating conjunction: Subordinating conjunctions are words which are based on   dependent clauses. A dependent clause cannot express a complete idea. That is why it must always come with an independent clause as it allows the dependent clause to convey the full meaning. Dependent clause is a group of words which has a subject and a verb. It is unable to express a complete sentence on its own. Some of the common subordinating conjunctions are because, since, as, although, though, while, and whereas. Sometimes an adverb, such as until, after, or before can also function as a conjunction. Eg.

a.    Because I woke up on time this morning, I cooked breakfast for myself.
b.    My maid works until my mother goes to sleep.

3. Correlative conjunction: Correlative conjunctions are those words which always come in a pair and are used to join grammatically same and equal elements in a sentence. Common pairs of correlative conjunctions are either … or, neither … nor, not only … but also, and both … and. Eg.

a.    I would either have coffee or tea.
b.    He neither planned to go on the trip nor did she go to the office.
c.    They not only support my team but also arrange meals for my entire team.


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