Conjunctions connect words or groups of words to each other and tell something about the relationship between these words.
Coordinating conjunctions
Coordinating conjunctions (51a) join equivalent structures, such as two or more nouns, pronouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, prepositions, conjunctions, phrases, or clauses.
A strong but warm breeze blew across the desert.
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Taiwo worked two shifts today, so she is tired tonight.
COORDINATING CONJUNCTIONS
| and | but | for | nor | or | so | yet |
Correlative conjunctions
Correlative conjunctions join equal elements, and they come in pairs.
Both Bechtel and Kaiser submitted bids on the project.
Maisha not only sent a card but also visited me in the hospital.
CORRELATIVE CONJUNCTIONS
| both . . . and | just as . . . so | not only . . . but also |
| either . . . or | neither . . . nor | whether . . . or |
Subordinating conjunctions
Subordinating conjunctions (51b) introduce adverb clauses and signal the relationship between the adverb clause and another clause, usually an independent clause. For instance, in the following sentence, the subordinating conjunction while signals a time relationship, letting us know that the two events in the sentence happened simultaneously:
Sweat ran down my face while I frantically searched for my child.
SOME COMMON SUBORDINATING CONJUNCTIONS
| after | if | unless |
| although | in order that | until |
| as | once | when |
| as if | since | where |
| because | so that | whether |
| before | than | while |
| even though | that | who |
| how | though | why |
Conjunctive adverbs
Conjunctive adverbs connect independent clauses and often act as transitional expressions (54f) that show how the second clause relates to the first clause. As their name suggests, conjunctive adverbs can act as both adverbs and conjunctions because they modify the second clause in addition to connecting it to the preceding clause. Like many other adverbs yet unlike other conjunctions, they can move to different positions in a clause.
The cider tasted bitter; however, each of us drank a tall glass of it.
The cider tasted bitter; each of us, however, drank a tall glass of it.
SOME CONJUNCTIVE ADVERBS
| also | indeed | now |
| anyway | instead | otherwise |
| besides | likewise | similarly |
| certainly | meanwhile | still |
| finally | moreover | then |
| furthermore | namely | therefore |
| however | nevertheless | thus |
| incidentally | next | undoubtedly |
Independent clauses connected by a conjunctive adverb must be separated by a semicolon or a period, not just a comma (46d).
Some of these problems could occur at any company; still, many could happen only here.