Conjunctions and Connectives

Good writers don’t just write in simple, short sentences — they use conjunctions and connectives to join ideas together and make their writing flow smoothly. A conjunction is a word that links two clauses or sentences. Co-ordinating conjunctions join two clauses that are equally important — words like ‘and’, ‘but’, ‘or’, ‘so’ and ‘yet’. For example: ‘I was tired, but I finished my homework.’ Subordinating conjunctions introduce a clause that cannot stand alone — it depends on the main clause for its meaning. Words like ‘because’, ‘although’, ‘when’, ‘if’, ‘unless’ and ‘while’ are subordinating conjunctions. For example: ‘Although it was raining, we went to the park.’ Using a wide variety of conjunctions makes your sentences more sophisticated, helps you explain your ideas clearly, and shows the relationship between different parts of your writing.