Parts of speech: Conjunctions

Conjunctions join words, phrases Definition for phrases, opens in dialog , or clauses Definition for clauses, opens in dialog , and they indicate the relation between the elements joined.

Coordinating conjunctions

and, but, or, nor, for, so, yet

A coordinating conjunction is used to connect grammatically equal elements.

Correlative conjunctions

either . . . or

neither . . . nor

not only . . . but also

whether . . . or

both . . . and

Correlative conjunctions are pairs of conjunctions that connect grammatically equal elements.

Subordinating conjunctions

A subordinating conjunction introduces a subordinate clause and indicates its relation to the rest of the sentence.

Conjunctive adverbs

A conjunctive adverb is used to indicate the relation between independent clauses.

NOTE:The ability to distinguish between conjunctive adverbs and coordinating conjunctions will help you avoid run-on sentences Definition for run-on sentences, opens in dialog and use commas and semicolons correctly. The ability to recognize subordinating conjunctions will help you avoid sentence fragments Definition for sentence fragments, opens in dialog .

Exercises: