Conjunction and Punctuation

Conjunctions

Conjunctions are words that link other words, phrases, or clauses together. Conjunctions allow you to form complex, elegant sentences and avoid the choppiness of multiple short sentences. Make sure that the phrases joined by conjunctions are parallel words which connect words, phrases, clauses or sentences are called conjunctions. The most common ones are 'and', 'or' and 'but'. These words all have different nuances and connotations but they all help to build up meaningful relationships within a sentence.

List of Conjunctions

Correlative Conjunctions

Correlative conjunctions are pairs of conjunctions that work together. Some examples are either/or, neither/nor, and, not only/but also, both/and, whether/or. These conjunctions correlate, working in pairs to join phrases or words that carry equal importance within a sentence.

Subordinating Conjunctions

Subordinating conjunctions join independent and dependent clauses. A subordinating conjunction can signal a cause-and-effect relationship, a contrast, or some other kind of relationship between the clauses. Common subordinating conjunctions are because, since, as, although, though, while, and whereas. Sometimes an adverb, such as until, after, or before can function as a conjunction.

• Conjunctive adverbs– While some instructors do not teach conjunctive adverbs alongside conjunctions, these important parts of speech are worth a mention here. These adverbs always connect one clause to another and are used to show sequence, contrast, cause and effect, and other relationships. 

Coordinating Conjunctions

Coordinating conjunctions coordinate or join two or more sentences, main clauses, words, or other parts of speech which are of the same syntactic importance. Coordinating conjunctions are used to give equal emphasis to a pair of main clauses. Coordinating conjunctions always connect phrases, words, and clauses. For example, This batch of mushroom stew is savory and delicious. Some of the coordinating conjunctions are for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so etc.

Punctuations

Punctuation is the use of spacing, conventional signs, and certain typographical devices as aids to the understanding and the correct reading, both silently and aloud, of handwritten and printed texts. In other words, it is the practice, action, or system of inserting points or other small marks into texts, in order to aid interpretation; division of the text into sentences, clauses, etc., by means of such marks

Punctuation consists of both rules and conventions. There are rules of punctuation that have to be followed, but there are also punctuation conventions that give writers greater choice. Punctuation is used to create sense, clarity and stress in sentences. You use punctuation marks to structure and organize your writing.

Types of Punctuation

• Full stop
• Comma
• Semicolon
• Colon
• Apostrophe
• Hyphen
• Dash
• Brackets
• Inverted commas
• Exclamation mark
• Question mark
• Bullet points

Punctuation marks are essential when you are writing. They show the reader where sentences start and finish and if they are used properly they make your writing easy to understand. They give a practical guidance on how to use commas, semicolons, and other types of punctuation correctly so that your writing will always be clear and effective. There are also sections which offer advice on using punctuation when writing direct speech, lists, or abbreviations.

Recap

• Conjunctions are words that link other words, phrases, or clauses together
• Coordinating Conjunctions: for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so
• Correlative Conjunctions: both/and, either/or, neither/nor, not only/but, whether/or
• Punctuation is the use of spacing, conventional signs like full stops, question marks, commas, colons and semi-colons, exclamation marks and quotation marks.