Conjunctions
Conjunctions are the words used to link clauses, in this case, independent and dependent. Conjunctions only operate within a sentence, not between sentences and other longer pieces of text. Conjunctions are placed at the beginning of a clause.
| Conjunctions (not a complete list) | Example | |
| Place | Where, wherever |
Wherever I go, I bump into my relatives. She left it where she found it. |
| Time | After, before, when, just as, as, while |
He realized he had lost it when he arrived home. Before I decide, I want to talk to you. |
| Manner | The way that, as, by |
The way that she spends money, you'd think she'd won lotto. By working overtime, she managed to finish the project. |
| Cause |
As, because, since
|
I came because he saw me. Since you obviously aren't interested, let's leave it. |
| Condition | As long as, if, unless |
If she wants to come, she'll have to hurry up. Never sit on an ants' nest unless you're wearing cast-iron pants. |
| Concession |
Although, while, even though |
Even though they weren't hungry, they ate a full meal. While recognizing his skill, I don't think he's right for the job. |
Conjunctions as a source of difficulty in comprehension
Sometimes the conjunction is omitted, and the relationship between the clauses has to be inferred, e.g., Andrew felt tremendous relief. He had got the marks he needed for uni. He slumped down into the chair, and breathed a long, slow sigh. In this case, students will have to infer the relationship i.e., Andrew felt tremendous relief because he had got the marks he needed for uni, so he slumped down into the chair, and breathed a long, slow sigh. Also see "Compound, complex, and compound-complex sentences as a source of difficulty in comprehension".