Conjunctions

A conjunction is a part of speech that connects words, sentences, phrases or clauses.

Index

• Conjunctions
  • Types
    • Coordinating
    • Correlative
    • Subordinating
• Prepositions
• Equal Adjectives

Types

Coordinating

Coordinating conjunctions join words, main clauses or sentences of equal importance.

• For: The witch cat was glad for a wizard was approaching.
• And: The flag is red and blue.
• Nor: The zombie was not alive, nor was it dead.
• But: They cast gnarly spells, but they still look cute on Facebook.
• Or: Neville is a wrestler or a wizard.
• Yet: The witch cat cursed them, yet they marched on.
• So: A speaking cat was too much to handle, so they fainted.

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Correlative

Correlative conjunctions work in pairs to join words or clauses in a sentence. Correlative conjunctions should always remain together as one sentence. There are many different pairs of correlative conjunctions:

• either...or: Neville is either a wrestler or a wizard.
• not only...but (also): The flag is not only red but also blue.
• may...but: A zombie may be alive, but is still the walking dead.
• neither...nor: A zombie is neither alive nor dead.
• both...and: They both cast gnarly spells and look cute on Facebook.
• whether...or: They had to decide whether they got cursed or they lived in shame forever.
• just as...so: Just as some humans are actually lizard alient, so some cats are actually witch cats.
• the...the: The more the cat spoke, the more they fainted.
• as...as: Witch cats are as dangerous as lizard humans.
• as much...as: Witch cats are as much witches as cats.
• no sooner...than: No sooner did the wizard approach, than the cat became glad.
• rather...than: Neville would rather be a wrestler than be in Slytherin.

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Subordinating

Subordinating conjunctions are conjunctions that join a main clause and a dependent clause.

I didn't think the witch cat would cast that spell since she had mewed so sweetly right before.

The subordinating conjunction illustrates the importance of the independent clause and provides a transition between two ideas in the same sentence by indicating a time, place or cause. Unless required by some other grammatical construction (such as an introductory clause), subordinating conjunctions do not need commas before or after.

after	although	as	as far as	as if
as long as	as soon as	as though	because	before
even if	even though	every time	if	in order that
since	so	so that	than	though
unless	until	when	whenever	where
whereas	wherever	while

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Prepositions

Prepositions are words that indicate location.
List of Prepositions

• Usually, prepositions show this location in the physical world.
  • The witch cat is on the broom

• Prepositions can also show location in time.
  • During The Undertaker's entrance, all the lights go out.

• "But" is very seldom a preposition. When it is used as a preposition, "but" means the same as "except."
  • Everyone held the championship, but Orange Cassidy.

• Prepositions generally introduce prepositional phrases. Prepositional phrases look like this:
  • PREPOSITION + OPTIONAL MODIFIER(S) + NOUN, PRONOUN, OR GERUND
    • According to us

• Realize that some prepositions also function as subordinating conjunctions. These prepositions are: after, as, before, since and until.
  • A subordinating conjunction will have both a subject and a verb following it.
    • SUBORDINATING CONJUNCTION + SUBJECT + VERB = SUBORDINATE CLAUSE
      • After Cena held the championship
    • Remember that subordinate clauses are fragments and cannot stand alone as a sentence.

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Equal Adjectives

Equal adjectives are two or more adjectives that modify a single noun and have the same weight.
For example, a "juicy, delicious steak" is both a juicy steak and a delicious steak.

• A useful test is to try putting the word "and" between the adjectives. If you can insert the word "and," you should use a comma.
  • Example:
    • It was a cool, dark night.

• Adjectives that reflect size or color have less weight, and therefore do not need commas. Note that when "old" is used to mean "familiar," it has less weight and does not need a comma.
  • Example:
    • The witch cat pulled a rabbit from an old, dusty hat.

• If the adjectives are unequal, no comma is used to separate them.
  • Example:
    • The good old "rabbit out of the hat" trick is a classic.
    • Kim was horrified when she dropped the antique Oriental vase.
    • The battered electric lamp cast a weak shadow across the floor.
  • The word "and" would not logically fit between the two adjectives "battered" and "electric" or "antique" and "Oriental."

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