CONJUNCTIONS
Definition
Some words are satisfied spending an evening at home, alone, eating ice-cream right out of the box, watching Seinfeld re-runs on TV, or reading a good book. Others aren't happy unless they're out on the town, mixing it up with other words; they're joiners and they just can't help themselves. A conjunction is a joiner, a word that connects (conjoins) parts of a sentence.
Coordinating
Conjunctions
The simple, little conjunctions are
called coordinating conjunctions (you can click on the words to see
specific descriptions of each one):
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Coordinating
Conjunctions
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(It may help you remember these
conjunctions by recalling that they all have fewer than four letters. Also,
remember the acronym FANBOYS: For-And-Nor-But-Or-Yet-So.
Be careful of the words then and now; neither is a coordinating
conjunction, so what we say about coordinating conjunctions' roles in a
sentence and punctuation does not apply to those two words.)
When a coordinating conjunction
connects two independent clauses,
it is often (but not always) accompanied by a comma:
- Ulysses wants to play for UConn, but he has had trouble meeting the academic requirements.
When the two independent clauses connected
by a coordinating conjunction are nicely balanced or brief, many writers will
omit the comma:
- Ulysses has a great jump shot but he isn't quick on his feet.
The comma is always correct when
used to separate two independent clauses connected by a coordinating
conjunction. See Punctuation Between Two Independent Clauses for further help.
A comma is also correct when and
is used to attach the last item of a serial list, although many writers
(especially in newspapers) will omit that final comma:
- Ulysses spent his summer studying basic math, writing, and reading comprehension.
When a coordinating conjunction is
used to connect all the elements in a series, a comma is not used:
- Presbyterians and Methodists and Baptists are the prevalent Protestant congregations in Oklahoma.
A comma is also used with but
when expressing a contrast:
- This is a useful rule, but difficult to remember.
In most of their other roles as
joiners (other than joining independent clauses, that is), coordinating
conjunctions can join two sentence elements without the help of a comma.
- Hemingway and Fitzgerald are among the American expatriates of the between-the-wars era.
- Hemingway was renowned for his clear style and his insights into American notions of male identity.
- It is hard to say whether Hemingway or Fitzgerald is the more interesting cultural icon of his day.
- Although Hemingway is sometimes disparaged for his unpleasant portrayal of women and for his glorification of machismo, we nonetheless find some sympathetic, even heroic, female figures in his novels and short stories.
Among the coordinating conjunctions,
the most common, of course, are and, but, and or. It might
be helpful to explore the uses of these three little words. The examples below
by no means exhaust the possible meanings of these conjunctions.
EXERCISE - CONJUNCTIONS
Fill in the blanks with these words:
although, and, because, but, or, since, so, unless, until, when.
- 1 Things were different _____ I was young.
- 2 I do it _____ I like it.
- 3 Let us wait here _____ the rain stops.
- 4 You cannot be a lawyer _____ you have a law degree.
- 5 That was years _____ years ago.
- 6 She has not called _____ she left last week.
- 7 I saw him leaving an hour _____ two ago.
- 8 This is an expensive _____ very useful book.
- 9 We were getting tired _____ we stopped for a rest.
- 10 He was angry _____ he heard when happened.
ANSWER KEY
1.Things were
different when I was young.
2. I do it
because I like it.
3.Let us wait here until
the rain stops.
4. You cannot
be a lawyer unless you have a law degree.
6. She has not
called since she left last week.
7. I saw him
leaving an hour or two ago.
8. This is an
expensive but very useful book.
9. We were getting
tired so we stopped for a rest.
10. He was angry when
he heard when happened.
SUMBER :
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