The art of communication, whether oral or written, lies in how words are brought together to form sentences. It is here that conjunctions play an important role. They are words that connect other words, phrases or clauses within a sentence. For example, 'and', 'or;, 'besides', 'also', 'because', but', 'although', 'despite', 'yet', 'however' and so on.
There are two kinds of conjunctions:
1. Co-ordinating Conjunctions
connect words, phrases, or clauses of the same rank and usually of the same kind. The chief Co-ordinating Conjunctions are: and, but, for, or, nor, also, either...or, neither...nor.
For example,
1. "Anuj and Kalpana are friends."
2. "We waited an hour, but no one came."
3. "Neither a borrower, nor a lender be."
4. "Either he is mad, or he feigns madness."
5. "He is slow, but he is sure."
Understanding the way Co-ordinating Conjunctions work can make it easy for the aspirant to use. There are four types of Co-ordinating Conjunctions:
• Cumulative- these merely add one statement to another. For example, "God made the country and man made the town."
• Adversative- these express opposition or contrast between two statements. For example, "I was annoyed, still I kept quiet."
• Disjunctive or Alternative- these express a choice between two alternatives. For example, "Walk quickly, else you will not overtake him."
• Illative- these express an inference. For example, "All precautions must have been neglected, for the disease spread rapidly."
2. Subordinating Conjunctions
connect a clause to another on which it depends for its full meaning. The common Subordinating Conjunctions are: that, when, where, while, after, before, as soon as, if, because and as.
For example,
1. "After the shower was over, the sun shone out again."
2. "You will pass if you work hard."
3. "He ran away because he was afraid."
Subordinating Conjunctions can be classified according to their meaning as
• Time- "I would die before I lied.
"Many things have happened since I saw you."
• Purpose-"We eat so that we may live."
"He held my hand lest I should fall."
• Reason-"Since you wish it, it shall be done."
"I helped him because he was a friend."
• Condition-"Grievances cannot be redressed unless they are known."
"I will go if you come along."
• Comparison-"He is stronger than Ajay."
"Distribute the mangoes equally between the two brothers."
