Conjunctions - Conjunções em inglês

What are conjunctions?

Conjunctions are words that can link two sentences together. Sometimes, they are also called connectors. More often than not, they are simply referred to as "joining words." 

And, but, so, although, since and however are some commonly used conjunctions.

In this section, you will learn how to use conjunctions effectively to link two simple sentences into a more complex one.

Conjunctions are also important as they show the relationship between ideas. 

These two sentences express two ideas.

"The satays are good" 

"The chicken wings are fantastic".

The use of the conjunction 'and' in this example simply joins the two ideas together. The writer is merely commenting that the satays and chicken wings are both good in that stall.

The satays are good and the chicken wings are fantastic.

However, the speaker could have a different intention.
By using 'but', the speaker can contrast the two ideas and emphasise the second idea. 

The satays are good but the chicken wings are fantastic.

So, here, the satay may be good but the chicken wings are definitely better.

PART A:

As you can see, conjunctions can add meaning to what you are writing. So, you need to think carefully about the meaningful relationship between your ideas when you are choosing your conjunctions. 

Although there are countless conjunctions and conjoining phrases, let us start with the six most common conjunctions:

And
But
So
Although
Since
However
 To begin, let's practise using the simple conjunctions and, but and so. 

A brief description of the three conjunctions are given below:

and - joins two ideas
i. Rohini is extremely bright. She also has a wicked sense of humour.
ii. Rohini is extremely bright and she also has a wicked sense of humour.

but - joins two ideas by contrasting them
i. Xiaofang looks fierce. She has a kind heart.
ii. Xiaofang looks fierce but she has a kind heart.


so - joins two ideas by showing the reason or the cause
i. The bus was crowded. We had to stand.
ii. The bus was crowded so we had to stand.

Do Conjunctions Exercise 1 now.

Whe you finish, close the window and continue this lesson.

PART B

 Apart from and, so and but, other conjunctions can be used.

In the pair of sentences 

"It is hot outside. It is cold inside the office", 

you could have also linked the two sentences by using 'Although'. 

Although it is hot outside, it is cold in the office.

 Note that although and but express the same idea of contrast. So, if although is used, but cannot be used in the same sentence. 

 Therefore, the following is incorrect.

*Although it is hot outside but it is cold in the office.

 Another conjunction, since, can also be used to conjoin the pair of sentences, 

'We had forgotten to take our umbrellas.' 

'We were soaked walking home in the rain.'

Since we had forgotten to take our umbrellas, we were soaked walking home in the rain.

As you can see, since can also be used to express a causal relationship between two ideas.

The contrast between the two sentences, "It is hot outside. It is cold inside the office." can also be captured using another conjunction, however. 

It is hot outside; however, it is cold inside the office.

Do Conjunctions Exercise 2 now.Top

Whe you finish, close the window and continue this lesson.

Exercise 3

 Before clicking on the link to Exercise 4, spend a few minutes reading the following passage.
Then, in a separate sheet of paper, write out and link the sentences on both sides of the red asterisks by using the following conjunctions. Use each conjunction at least once:

and	but	so	although	however	since
I had taken a sleeping tablet. * I still couldn't go to sleep. I was still up. * I decided to read some of the letters May had written to me over the last three months. May always sounds cheerful.* She is actually very sad. She keeps a lot of things to herself. * I have to make guesses all the time. I try to understand her. * It does get tiring to have to keep guessing. May can also be very moody. * She drives me crazy time and time again. The thing is, I care about her. * I can't seem to forget her. We have broken up many times. * We always manage to get back together again. This time, it is more serious. It has been three long months. She has written to me. * I didn't write back. I really miss her. * I decided to call her.

 

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Do Exercise 4 now.