conjunctions

On this page

• What is a conjunction?
• Coordinating conjunctions
• Correlative conjunctions
• Subordinating conjunctions
• Additional information

What is a conjunction?

A conjunction is a part of speech used to join sentences or sentence elements (words, phrases or clauses). There are three types of conjunctions in English: coordinating conjunctions, correlative conjunctions and subordinating conjunctions.

Coordinating conjunctions

Coordinating conjunctions join two or more elements of equal value. English has seven coordinating conjunctions: for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so.
(See our tip “Coordinating conjunctions” for more details.)

Correlative conjunctions

Correlative conjunctions are two-part conjunctions that join two elements of equal value. The following are the most common correlative conjunctions: both … and; either … or; neither … nor; not only … but also.
(See our tip “Correlative conjunctions” for more details.)

Subordinating conjunctions

Subordinating conjunctions join two clauses by turning one of them into a subordinate (dependent) clause. The following are examples of common subordinating conjunctions: although, because, if, when, until.
(See our tip “Subordinating conjunctions” for more details.)

Additional information

• Coordinating conjunctions
• Correlative conjunctions
• Subordinating conjunctions
• Correlative conjunctions: Both … and
• Correlative conjunctions: Either … or
• Correlative conjunctions: Neither … nor
• Conjunction (HyperGrammar 2)

Quizzes

• Commas: Coordinate your commas and conjunctions!
• Correlative conjunctions: Spot the parallel structure!
• Correlative conjunctions: Parallel or not?