What are conjunctions in English grammar

Shree Ganeshay Namah

What are conjunctions in English grammar

Introduction

There are eight parts of the speech in English and conjunction is one of them. others are noun, pronoun, adjective, verb, adverb, preposition, interjection.

Here we will study conjunction, its definition, types and examples.

What are conjunctions in English grammar

Let’s see the definition of conjunction.

The words which join two or more words or sentences are called as conjunctions.

Examples- and, or, but, not only- but also, either-or, neither- nor.

Use of conjunctions in sentences.

1)Sam and Rita are friends.

2)He tried hard but he did not succeed.

3)Cricket or football is his favorite game.

Now we will see the types of conjunctions.

What are the types of conjunctions?

There are two main types of conjunctions. They are as follows.

1)Coordinating conjunction

2)Subordinating conjunction.

Now we will see both these types in detail with definitions, subtypes and examples.

Definition, examples, and subtypes of coordinating conjunction.

Conjunctions that join words or sentences of equal rank or importance are called as co-ordinating conjunctions.

Examples- and, or, but, nor, either- or, neither- nor

Four subtypes of co-ordinating conjunction.

They are as follows.

1)Cumulative or copulative

2)Adversative

3)Disjunctive or alternative

4)Illative

Let’s see them in detail with definitions and examples.

1)Cumulative or copulative

The conjunction that adds one statement to other is called a cumulative or copulative conjunction.

Example- and

We played football and we won the match.

2)Adversative

The conjunction that expresses opposition or contrast between two sentences is called as adversative conjunction.

Example-but

He studied hard but he did not secure good marks.

3)Disjunctive or alternative

The conjunction that expresses the choice or option between two alternatives is called as disjunctive or elative conjunction.

Example- or, neither- nor, else.

1)You will do it or you will fail to do it.

2)He is neither happy nor sad.

3)Run fast else you will miss the bus.

4)Illative

The conjunction that expresses an inference is called as illative conjunction.

Example- for

1)He must have reached home for I have heard his sound from his room.

These are the four subtypes of co-ordinating conjunction.

Now we will see more about sub- ordinating conjunction.

Definition and examples of sub- ordinating conjunction

Let’s see it.

The conjunction that introduces sub-ordinate or dependent clause in a sentence is called a sub- ordinating conjunction.

Here take note that the main clause expresses its meaning by itself but sub-ordinate or dependent clause can’t do it. For that, it depends on the main clause and the conjunction that joins sub-ordinate or dependent clause to main clause is called a sub- ordinating conjunction.

Examples- who, which, that because, as, since, for, though, although, even though, if, unless, whether, when, before, after, till, until, where, wherever, in order that, so that.

Examples

  1. We saw a boy who was playing with his pet dog.
  2. He came late because he missed his bus.

From the meaning point of view, sub- ordinating conjunctions are classified into eight types.

Subtypes of subordinating conjunction

1)Subordinating conjunction of time-

Examples- a) He will come before I come.

b)She will go after we come.

2) Subordinating conjunction of cause or reason-

a) They lost the match because they did not plan well.

3) Subordinating conjunction of purpose-

a) Our soldiers fight on the border so that we live safely.

  1. Subordinating conjunction of result or consequence-

a) She was so hungry that she could not wait.

  1. Subordinating conjunction of condition-

a) You will pass if you study hard.

  1. Subordinating conjunction of concession or contrast-

a) Though he was tired, he started working.

  1. Subordinating conjunction of comparison

She is cleverer than Rita is.

Note – Some words like till, since, but are used as prepositions and conjunctions.

In this way we have detailed explanation of conjunctions.

Conclusion for conjunction in English grammar

From the above discussion, we can conclude that conjunction is the word that joins two words or sentences of equal importance. There are two main types of conjunctions. They are co-ordinating conjunctions and subordinating conjunctions.

I am sure you will like this article.

With love+ respect from team learmhatkey.com

Dipak D. Jagtap: Always the learner.Having spent 16 years in English language training, its time now to reach the world to learn more and to share my experience and practices....
Related Post
Disqus Comments Loading...
Recent Posts