What is a conjunction in English? | Studio English

Today we will learn what is a conjunction in English, what is its definition, and its different types, let’s get started.

Whenever we talk, we use conjunctions. See I just used it in the previous sentence. “Whenever” is one of the commonly used conjunctions. I’m pretty sure you use many of them without knowing. Let’s take another example to prove that.

My dad was eating Pizza. My sister was eating Pizza. My friend was eating pizza.

What do you think about the above three sentences? They are all correct but there’s a better way to say them without repeating ourselves. How? By using conjunctions as follows:

My dad, my sister, and my friend were eating pizza.

What do you think? It’s much better this way. And to cut it short, English conjunctions are words that are used to connect sentences together.

I that all? No, let’s take a look at its broader definition and different types.

How do you identify conjunctions?

Conjunctions in English are simply words or phrases used to connect sentences, words, and phrases together. It’s defined in the dictionary as: “a word used to connect clauses or sentences or to coordinate words in the same clause (e.g. and, but, if ).”

Its definition according to the Cambridge dictionary is: “a word such as ‘and’, ‘but’, ‘while’, or ‘although’ that connects words, phrases, and clauses in a sentence”.

Here are some examples to understand better:

The black and white dresses are beautiful.
The cat and dog are running all over the place.
The red dress is beautiful but the black one is better.

The point of using English conjunction is to produce a short, less repetitive sentence.

What are examples of conjunctions list?

Okay, now I understand what it means, but can you give me a list conjunctions in English? Well, that would be my honor. Here are the most used conjunctions with examples:

I like the red and white dresses.

The red dress is beautiful but I prefer the white one.

Do you prefer tea or coffee?

So, should I buy the white dress?

Because

Yes, because the white dress is beautiful.

However

However, if you like the red dress more you should buy it.

After

Let’s go eat after shopping.

Since

Since we have a test tomorrow, we should study.

During

During the test, I fell ill. than

Unless

Let’s go eat unless you have something else to do.

That.

That dress looks amazing.

While

I met my old friend while I was at the restaurant.

What are the 3 main conjunctions?

There are 3 main types of conjunctions English, and they are:

1. Coordinating conjunctions.

coordinating conjunction is used to connect two or more equal grammatical elements. What does that mean? It means that it connects a verb to another verb, or a noun to another noun, and so on. For example:

They all ate and laughed.

Also coordinating conjunctions in English are used to connect independent clauses together. What are independent clauses together? They are phrases that have a complete meaning on their own. Let’s take an example:

He might have eaten the pizza.
He may have eaten the pasta.

Each one of the sentences is a complete sentence. To connect them and form one sentence we use a coordinating conjunction but don’t forget to add a comma before it, as follows:

he might have eaten the pizza, or he may have eaten the pasta.

Here’s a list of the coordinating conjunction English:

2. Subordinating conjunctions.

Subordinating conjunctions are used to connect a dependent clause to an independent clause. The dependent clause refers to a phrase that can’t be completed on its own. For example:

Before he leaves

Does this have a complete meaning? No, therefore it should be attached to an independent clause to have a meaning.

Before he leaves, make sure his room is clean.

Subordinating conjunctions are added at the beginning of the sentence or at the middle.

Make sure his room is clean before he leaves.
Before he leaves, make sure his room is clean.

Here’s a list of the subordinating conjunctions:

After
Although
As
As if
as long as
as much as
as soon as
as though
because
before
by the time
even if
even though
if
in order that
in case
in the event that
lest
now that
once
only
only if
provided that
since
so
supposing
that
than
though
till
unless
until
when
whenever
where
whereas
wherever
whether or not
while

3. Correlative conjunctions.

Correlative conjunctions refer to pairs of conjunctions that are used together to form a sentence. For example, we find “either … or” a lot.

List of Correlative conjunctions:

both/and.
either/or.
neither/nor.
not only/but.
whether/or.

Here are some examples:

I need both dresses red and white.

You should buy either red or white.

What are the 7 conjunctions?

The most common conjunction English when it comes to Coordinating conjunctions are:

Subordinating also called a dependent clause, to an independent clause, and it has 7 conjunctions that are most commonly used:

after
although
as long as
before
once
since
whereas

while in Correlative there are only 5 that are most commonly used and they are:

both/and.
either/or.
neither/nor.
not only/but.
whether/or.

What are the 4 types of conjunctions?

So far we have discussed the main 3 types of conjunctions in English and they are:

Coordinating conjunctions list

Correlative conjunctions list

either/or
neither/nor
not only/but also
as/as
both/and
whether/or

Subordinating conjunctions list

after
although
as soon as
because
before
by the time
in case
now that
since
unless
when
whether or not
while

The fourth type is called Conjunctive adverbs and they are one or more words that are used to connect two independent clauses together.

after all
besides
consequently
finally
however
nevertheless
then
therefore

How do you learn conjunctions?

You already learned all you need to know about conjunctions. You know their different types when to use each one of them, and a list of the most common words in each type. There is only one thing left to say and you will be good to go. What is it? Conjunction rules, let’s learn some rules that will teach you how to use them.

You might ask yourself, where should I put the conjunction? And the answer is between the two things you want to connect. For example:

I ate but was still hungry.
I’m tired and sleepy.
Which bag should I buy? red or black?

But don’t forget, subordinating conjunctions can be used at the beginning of the sentence. You don’t have to follow the rules all the time. Even coordinating conjunctions can be used at the beginning of the sentence as long as its meaning is clear.

How many conjunctions are there in English?

There are many conjunctions but manly they fall under three categories, here they are:

Coordinating conjunctions

Correlative conjunctions

either/or
neither/nor
not only/but also
as/as
both/and
whether/or

Subordinating conjunctions

after
although
as
as if
as long as
as much as
as soon as
as far as
as though
by the time
in as much as
inasmuch
in order to
in order that
in case
lest
though
now that
now since
now when
now
even if
even
even though
provided
provide that
if
if then
if when
if only
just as
where
wherever
whereas
where if
whether
since
because
whose
whoever
unless
while
before
why
so that
until
how
since
than
till
whenever
supposing
when
or not
what

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