Conjunctions join words, phrases, or clauses, and they indicate the relation between the elements joined.
Coordinating conjunctions A coordinating conjunction is used to connect grammatically equal elements. (See 9b and 14a.) The coordinating conjunctions are and, but, or, nor, for, so, and yet.
The sociologist interviewed children but not their parents.
Write clearly, and your readers will appreciate your efforts.
In the first sentence, but connects two noun phrases; in the second, and connects two independent clauses.
Correlative conjunctions Correlative conjunctions come in pairs; they connect grammatically equal elements.
either . . . or
neither . . . nor
not only . . . but also
whether . . . or
both . . . and
Either the painting was brilliant or it was a forgery.
Subordinating conjunctions A subordinating conjunction introduces a subordinate clause and indicates the relation of the clause to the rest of the sentence. (See 48e.) The most common subordinating conjunctions are after, although, as, as if, because, before, if, in order that, once, since, so that, than, that, though, unless, until, when, where, whether, and while. (For a complete list, see 48e.)
When the fundraiser ends, we expect to have raised more than half a million dollars.
Conjunctive adverbs Conjunctive adverbs connect independent clauses and indicate the relation between the clauses. They can be used with a semicolon to join two independent clauses in one sentence, or they can be used alone with an independent clause. The most common conjunctive adverbs are finally, furthermore, however, moreover, nevertheless, similarly, then, therefore, and thus. (For a complete list, see 34b.)
The photographer failed to take a light reading; therefore, all the pictures were underexposed.
During the day, the kitten sleeps peacefully. However, when night falls, the kitten is wide awake and ready to play.
Conjunctive adverbs can appear at the beginning or in the middle of a clause.
When night falls, however, the kitten is wide awake and ready to play.
tip: The ability to distinguish between conjunctive adverbs and coordinating conjunctions will help you avoid run-on sentences and make punctuation decisions (see 20, 32a, and 32f). The ability to recognize subordinating conjunctions will help you avoid sentence fragments (see 19).
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