An Introduction To Conjunctions In English

Today we are looking at conjunctions which are another type of word you will find in English sentences.

They are small and may seem insignificant, but they are kind of like the glue that binds everything together and they are also extremely common, so they are very useful to know.

What Are Conjunctions In English?

The main job of a conjunction is to link things together in a sentence. Basically they allow you to make more complex sentences and are made up of all those small words that you don’t really pay attention to such as:

and, but, or, yet, so,

How To Use Conjunctions

Let’s quickly look at some ways you can uses these conjunctions:

And – this is used when you want to link two things or sentences together.

“My cat is big and strong.”

But – this is used when you want to link two contrasting things together.

“My cat is running, but slowly.”

Or – this is used to give alternative option or opinion.

“Would you like water or beer.”

Yet – this is used to link two things, but the second part that comes after the yet is contrasting.

“It is raining, yet I didn’t get wet.”

So – this is used to explain the reason for something.

“The bus was late, so I walked.”

There are many more conjugations, but the ones I have mentioned above are the ones you will see quite a lot. I might make separate page listing the other ones, as these can be useful to know too.

Can You Start A Sentence With A Conjunction?

There is always lots of debate about starting a sentence with a conjunction or not.

Some people will say its fine, other will say it’s a crime against grammar. Honestly, I don’t think it matters.

When I was in school, we were told it was totally unacceptable, but really I think this only applies when you are writing, especially formally. In this instance it is probably best to keep things strict and avoid starting a sentence with a conjunction.

However, I do find that I often start sentences with conjunctions, especially when speaking casually.  If you are sending a text to a friend of just chatting, feel free to do it, no one will even notice …just avoid it in a job interview and you will be fine. 

Conclusion

Hopefully you can see that conjunctions are pretty simple, but really important.

They really do pop up constantly in English so it is good to know how they work and to get very comfortable with them, they are going to make a difference to your ability and allow you to do so much more when you are creating sentences.

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