Conjunctionsare connecting words; they join parts of a sentence. Coordinate conjunctionsare used tojoin equal sentence parts:single words, phrases, and independent clauses. When two full clauses are joined, they are usually separated by a comma. The coordinate conjunctions you will most often see are listed in below.
And (addition), or(choice, possibility), but(contrast), nor(opposition)
· Hereford cows are brown and white.
· He washed his car and cleaned upthe garage.
· This plant can be grown in a house or in a garden. Her action was very brave or very foolish.
· Charlie brought his wallet but forgot his checkbook. The book discussed some interesting ideas but it wasn't very well written.
· He's never taken a class in sociology, nor does he intend to. 1 didn't have breakfast nor lunch.
(The conjunction so is used to join only clauses—not single words or phrases.)
Conjunctive adverbs(moreover, therefore, however, nevertheless, and so on) are also used to join clauses: It was a bright day, soshe put on her sunglasses. (negation effect)
Correlative conjunctionsare two-part conjunctions. Like coordinate conjunctions, they are used to join clauses, phrases, and words:
Both…and, not only…but also (addition) Both wolves and coyotes are members of the dog family. Dominic studied not only mathematics but also computer science.
Either…or (choice, possibility), neither…nor(negation) We need either a nail nor a screw to hang up this picture. Neither the television nor the stereo had been turned off.