The Importance of Conjunctions
Conjunctions are a crucial part of effective and elegant writing.
They join clauses, improve readability, and form connections between thoughts.
Most English conjunctions are short words, but their importance is huge. You might not even notice these tiny words in a sentence, but they’re everywhere, and they’re among the most important English words.
And let me tell you how common they are: So far, from the beginning of this text, I have used 9 conjunctions!
However, it can be tough to know when to use which one, which is why we at TextRanch want to help you out!
In this article, we explain 7 very common conjunctions with examples:
AND
“And” is used to link thoughts/items of the same importance. This is the most common conjunction in the English language.
Example: My favorite food is pizza, and my favorite drink is coffee.
BECAUSE
“Because” connects a dependent clause to an independent clause and provides a reason.
Example: The dog is happy because it found a chew toy to gnaw on.
BUT
“But” shows a clear contrast between two ideas.
Example: Today’s exam was difficult, but the students did well on it.
FOR
“For” is a more formal version of “because” that links two independent clauses.
Example: Try to exercise once a day, for it is good for your health.
As you can see, you can substitute it with “because” without changing the meaning of the sentence.
OR
“Or” is used to include choices or alternatives.
Example: Would you like to go surfing or play tennis?
SO
“So” shows the consequence of an action or situation.
Example: I don’t have any homework to do, so I can watch television later.
YET
“Yet” is similar to “but” with a stronger emphasis on the contrast.
Example: The store is open for business, yet there are no customers inside.
That’s it for this week’s lesson! Remember, you can use these words to combine clauses and form complex and compound sentences.
For completeness, let me add that there are way more than just 7 conjunctions in English: Do you know all of them? If not, stay tuned because we will expand this list!
Finally, if you liked this post, please consider sharing it with your friends!
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