{"id":154,"date":"2013-12-17T09:00:51","date_gmt":"2013-12-17T17:00:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/?p=154"},"modified":"2020-12-10T13:47:30","modified_gmt":"2020-12-10T21:47:30","slug":"conjunctions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/conjunctions\/","title":{"rendered":"TOEFL Grammar: Using Conjunctions"},"content":{"rendered":"

Lately, I\u2019ve been dealing with what makes a sentence and what doesn\u2019t. As we\u2019ve dealt with run-on sentences (How Not to Write a Sentence – Run-On Sentences<\/a>) and sentence fragments (How Not to Make a Sentence – Sentence Fragments<\/a>), we\u2019ve talked a lot about conjunctions and how to use them properly. Since it\u2019s a slippery topic, here\u2019s a quick explanation of the kinds of conjunctions and how they should be used.<\/p>\n

There aren\u2019t very many coordinating conjunctions, so you\u2019re probably very familiar with them even if you don\u2019t know them by name. You can remember them all with the acronym \u201cFANBOYS\u201d: For, and, nor, but, or, yet, so. Coordinating conjunctions are used to join two clauses that are equally important.<\/p>\n

By definition, a conjunction is intended to join two elements, so it\u2019s no wonder that some people say that you should never start a sentence with a conjunction. These days, many people are becoming somewhat more relaxed, so beginning with \u201cbut\u201d or \u201cand\u201d is unlikely to unleash the wrath of the grammar gods.<\/p>\n

Subordinating conjunctions are used to show that once clause, or part of a sentence, is less<\/i> important than the other. Here\u2019s a list of common subordinating conjunctions (you can view the original chart here<\/a>):<\/p>\n

\"c_img1\"<\/p>\n

These conjunctions can only be used in compound sentences, or sentences made of two or more parts. They help you to show the relationship between the more important part of a compound sentence and the less important part. Here\u2019s an example of what I mean.<\/p>\n

Meg wasn\u2019t very good at softball. She was scared of the ball. <\/i><\/p>\n

In this example, the first sentence is the main idea (aka the \u201ccoordinate clause\u201d), and the second adds information that helps us to understand the context or reason (aka the \u201csubordinate clause\u201d). So in this case, the subordinating conjunction should go before \u201cshe was scared of the ball.\u201d There are lots of ways to make this happen:<\/p>\n

Since Meg was scared of the ball, she wasn\u2019t very good at softball.<\/i><\/p>\n

Meg wasn\u2019t very good at softball because she was scared of the ball.<\/i><\/p>\n

As Meg was scared of the ball, she wasn\u2019t very good at softball.<\/i><\/p>\n

Here we\u2019re dealing with a relationship of cause-and-effect. Other subordinating conjunctions can be used to show temporal (time-related) relationships or comparative relationships.<\/p>\n

If you\u2019ve never heard it before, check out \u201cConjunction Junction<\/a>,\u201d a song about conjunctions from School House Rock.<\/i> It\u2019s a little educational, a little silly, a little dated, and lots of fun!<\/p>\n

For more lessons on grammar, don’t forget to check out our free online lessons<\/a>. \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Lately, I\u2019ve been dealing with what makes a sentence and what doesn\u2019t. As we\u2019ve dealt with run-on sentences (How Not to Write a Sentence – Run-On Sentences) and sentence fragments (How Not to Make a Sentence – Sentence Fragments), we\u2019ve talked a lot about conjunctions and how to use them properly. Since it\u2019s a slippery […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":47,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13603],"tags":[],"ppma_author":[13632],"class_list":["post-154","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-grammar"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nTOEFL Grammar: Using Conjunctions - Magoosh Blog \u2013 TOEFL\u00ae\ufe0f Test<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/conjunctions\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"TOEFL Grammar: Using Conjunctions\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Lately, I\u2019ve been dealing with what makes a sentence and what doesn\u2019t. As we\u2019ve dealt with run-on sentences (How Not to Write a Sentence – Run-On Sentences) and sentence fragments (How Not to Make a Sentence – Sentence Fragments), we\u2019ve talked a lot about conjunctions and how to use them properly. Since it\u2019s a slippery […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/conjunctions\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Magoosh Blog \u2013 TOEFL\u00ae\ufe0f Test\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/facebook.com\/MagooshTOEFL\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2013-12-17T17:00:51+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2020-12-10T21:47:30+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/files\/2013\/12\/c_img1.png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Kate Hardin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@MagooshTOEFL\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@MagooshTOEFL\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Kate Hardin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/conjunctions\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/conjunctions\/\",\"name\":\"TOEFL Grammar: Using Conjunctions - Magoosh Blog \u2013 TOEFL\u00ae\ufe0f Test\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2013-12-17T17:00:51+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/#\/schema\/person\/83c4cb93b4b527f8404029efa19cf318\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/conjunctions\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/conjunctions\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/conjunctions\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"TOEFL Grammar: Using Conjunctions\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/\",\"name\":\"Magoosh Blog \u2013 TOEFL\u00ae\ufe0f Test\",\"description\":\"Online TOEFL Preparation\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/#\/schema\/person\/83c4cb93b4b527f8404029efa19cf318\",\"name\":\"Kate Hardin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/f695eb57ce131bb657ee5d3203ed66f9\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/b8502df78e82e1b38fd3b3ef66174425ec804827b7270a78ea571396a998ee25?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/b8502df78e82e1b38fd3b3ef66174425ec804827b7270a78ea571396a998ee25?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Kate Hardin\"},\"description\":\"Kate has 6 years of experience in teaching foreign language. She graduated from Sewanee in 2012, where she studied and taught German, and recently returned from a year spent teaching English in a northern Russian university. Follow Kate on Google+!\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/author\/kate\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"TOEFL Grammar: Using Conjunctions - Magoosh Blog \u2013 TOEFL\u00ae\ufe0f Test","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/conjunctions\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"TOEFL Grammar: Using Conjunctions","og_description":"Lately, I\u2019ve been dealing with what makes a sentence and what doesn\u2019t. As we\u2019ve dealt with run-on sentences (How Not to Write a Sentence – Run-On Sentences) and sentence fragments (How Not to Make a Sentence – Sentence Fragments), we\u2019ve talked a lot about conjunctions and how to use them properly. Since it\u2019s a slippery […]","og_url":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/conjunctions\/","og_site_name":"Magoosh Blog \u2013 TOEFL\u00ae\ufe0f Test","article_publisher":"https:\/\/facebook.com\/MagooshTOEFL","article_published_time":"2013-12-17T17:00:51+00:00","article_modified_time":"2020-12-10T21:47:30+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/files\/2013\/12\/c_img1.png"}],"author":"Kate Hardin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@MagooshTOEFL","twitter_site":"@MagooshTOEFL","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Kate Hardin","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/conjunctions\/","url":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/conjunctions\/","name":"TOEFL Grammar: Using Conjunctions - Magoosh Blog \u2013 TOEFL\u00ae\ufe0f Test","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/#website"},"datePublished":"2013-12-17T17:00:51+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/#\/schema\/person\/83c4cb93b4b527f8404029efa19cf318"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/conjunctions\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/conjunctions\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/conjunctions\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"TOEFL Grammar: Using Conjunctions"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/#website","url":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/","name":"Magoosh Blog \u2013 TOEFL\u00ae\ufe0f Test","description":"Online TOEFL Preparation","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/#\/schema\/person\/83c4cb93b4b527f8404029efa19cf318","name":"Kate Hardin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/f695eb57ce131bb657ee5d3203ed66f9","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/b8502df78e82e1b38fd3b3ef66174425ec804827b7270a78ea571396a998ee25?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/b8502df78e82e1b38fd3b3ef66174425ec804827b7270a78ea571396a998ee25?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Kate Hardin"},"description":"Kate has 6 years of experience in teaching foreign language. She graduated from Sewanee in 2012, where she studied and taught German, and recently returned from a year spent teaching English in a northern Russian university. Follow Kate on Google+!","url":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/author\/kate\/"}]}},"authors":[{"term_id":13632,"user_id":47,"is_guest":0,"slug":"kate","display_name":"Kate Hardin","avatar_url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/b8502df78e82e1b38fd3b3ef66174425ec804827b7270a78ea571396a998ee25?s=96&d=mm&r=g","user_url":"","last_name":"Hardin","first_name":"Kate","description":"Kate has 6 years of experience in teaching foreign language. She graduated from Sewanee in 2012, where she studied and taught German, and recently returned from a year spent teaching English in a northern Russian university. Follow <a href=\"https:\/\/plus.google.com\/+KateHardin123?rel=author\">Kate on Google+<\/a>!"}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/154","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/47"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=154"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/154\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=154"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=154"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=154"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ppma_author?post=154"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}