Conjunctions Examples

There are eight parts of speech in the English language. One of these parts of speech is the conjunction. Conjunctions are words that link other words, phrases, and clauses together. There are several types of conjunctions.

Coordinating Conjunctions

These are the conjunctions we typically think about when we think about conjunctions.

and, but, or, nor, for, so, yet

These conjunctions can be used between words, phrases, and sentences (with a comma) that coordinate-or that are equal in weight and importance. Here are some examples:

Jack and Jill
Hamburger or hotdog
Peas but not carrots
The red dress and the blue pants
I would like spaghetti, and can I also have garlic bread?
You need to finish your quiz, or you will not have a good grade.

Correlative Conjunctions

Correlative conjunctions are word pairs that work together to correlate ideas. The two most common correlative conjunctions are "either/or" and "neither/nor." Here are some examples of these used in a sentence:

Either you can go to practice, or you will not be on the team.
Neither the blue shoes nor the green shoes look right with this dress.

Subordinating Conjunctions

Subordinating conjunctions are conjunctions that join dependent and independent clauses. The function of the conjunction is to join, but to also show the subordinate relationship between the additional information found in the dependent clause and the rest of the sentence. Here is a list of some common subordinating conjunctions:

after, before, because, if, when, although, as, since, though, unless, until, when, whenever, while

Here are some examples of subordinating conjunctions used in complex sentences.

After you brush your teeth, you need to go to bed.
We had planned to go swimming today until it stated to rain.
Please tell Alicia I said hello when you get to the school where she works.
Unless you can tell me what you are doing here, I will have to write you up for being out of the classroom.