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Conjunction Exercises
In the following sentences, circle the conjunctions and underline the words they
connect.
1.
Jack and Jill went up the hill to fetch a pail of water.
2.
Did you remember to buy paper and pencils for school?
3.
We are having macaroni and cheese for lunch.
4.
Do you want to go or stay home?
5.
She jumped and tumbled on the trampoline.
6.
Do you walk or ride the bus to school?
7.
The apple is red and shiny.
8.
Grapes are purple or green.
9.
The train clattered and rattled on the tracks.
10.
We are going to Texas or Florida on vacation.
11.
It is raining cats and dogs.
12.
Children swing or slide at the playground
Name__________________ Due Date:________________
Conjunctions
1. John can teach English. He can teach web design. (He can't do both.)
__________________ ________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
2. The horse galloped toward the barn. A rabbit suddenly ran out of
the tall grass.
____________________________________________________________
3. Many women watch television soap operas. The love scenes are
often too realistic.
____________________________________________________________
4. There is now a new president in the United States. There was much
confusion in counting the votes.
Conjunctions
.
Memorize: A conjunction is a word used to connect words*, phrases or clauses in a
sentence. The principal coordinate conjunctions are and, but, or, nor.
In the following sentences, please circle the conjunctions and underline the words they
connect.
Conjunctions connecting Subjects:
1. You or she may erase the chalkboard.
2. The mother cat and her kittens snuggled in their cozy box.
3. Did Clare or Charles finish cleaning the closet?
4. Adam and Eve were our first parents.
Conjunctions connecting Predicates:
5. The kitty pawed and pulled the string.
6. The rickety boat creaked and groaned as it rocked on the rough sea.
7. The boys whooped and hollered as their favorite team scored a touchdown.
8. Jesus suffered and died for us.
Conjunctions connecting Modifiers:
9. Always do your assignment neatly and promptly.
10.She wore her red and blue dress to the party.
11.The bell rang loudly but joyfully.
12.Dad is a skillful and careful driver.
**********
"I pulled out the weeds and Jane watered the flowers." Two people each did different
things while working in the garden. The two parts could stand alone as sentences - "I
pulled out the weeds." "Jane watered the flowers." Since the ideas in the sentences are
related to each other, they can be joined by and to form one compound sentence.
"We went to the store to buy milk, bread, oranges, dog food and coffee." When you write a
series in a sentence, use commas between all the items except the last two - there you
need to use a conjunction. A comma in front of the and is optional.
OR: Or is used between things or ideas about which there is a choice or when
we don't know the answer. Or is a selective conjunction.
"Michael or Sarah went to the movies." One of them went, but not both. We don't know
which one.
"Thomas slipped or fell on the ice." Thomas had a problem on the ice. Did he slip? Did
he fall? We don't know, but he did one of them.
"I will pull out the weeds or Jane will water the flowers." For some reason, these two
people cannot both work in the garden. One of them can. Will it be I? Will it be Jane? I
don't know. Or tells us that only one of the things will take place.
"We need to buy milk, juice, iced tea or soda at the store." We evidently need something
to drink, but it doesn't matter what it is. We need to choose one of the items in the list.
That is what or is telling us.
BUT: But is used to let us know that something happened in a sentence that we
did not expect or to prepare us for an excuse. But is a conjunction of differences.
"Michael went to the movies, but Sarah stayed home." It would have been normal for
Sarah to go to the movies with Michael. This time she did something different - she stayed
home. But introduces such a difference.
"Thomas slipped on the ice, but he did not fall." We would expect Thomas to fall when he
slipped on the ice. He did something different - he did not fall. But introduces that
difference.
"We were going to pull out the weeds, but Jane decided to water the flowers instead."
Jane and I had planned to pull weeds. For whatever reason, Jane began to water the
flowers instead. She did something different from what I had expected. But introduces
that difference.
"We found everything we needed for the camping trip but the first aid kit." The first aid kit
was different - it could not be found. But introduces that difference.
"I did my homework last night, but the dog ate it." But is used quite often to introduce a
reason why we did not do something we were supposed to do, like turn in our homework.
"Jane watered the flowers so it would be easier for me to pull out the weeds." Watering
softened the soil, with the result that it was easier to pull the weeds out by their roots. SO
introduces the result of the watering.
"We found the first aid kit, so we could finally leave for the camping trip." For reasons of
safety, we did not want to go camping without a first aid kit. We finally found it, with the
result that we could leave at last. SO introduces that result.
YET: Yet is also used to introduce a result that is different or opposite from what
we expected or what would be normal. The different result can be positive or
negative. Yet is a conjunction of unexpected difference. (Yet can also be used as an
adverb referring to a time or an event that has not occurred, so be careful. "Jack has not yet
finished his chores.")
"Michael and Sarah went to the movies, yet she was worried about leaving the baby with a
sitter." Sarah should have been having a good time, but the truth was different from what
we would expect because of her worry.
"Thomas slipped and fell on the ice, yet he did not get hurt." You would expect a person
to be hurt after falling on the ice, but Thomas wasn't. That different result is introduced by
yet.
"Jane and I pull the weeds in the garden every week, yet there are always more to pull the
next week." One would expect, or at least hope, that if all the weeds were pulled from the
garden this week, there would not be any left to pull next week. Alas, nature is not like
that. In this case, yet introduces a result that is different from what Jane and I hoped for.
"We had finally loaded everything we would need for the camping trip, including the first
aid kit, yet we could not leave because the car's battery was dead." Not being able to
leave was an unexpected result after all the stuff was loaded back into the car. This
unexpected result is introduced by yet.
"We spent $30 at the grocery store although we only went to buy a gallon of milk." Our
expectation had been to spend less than $3.00 at the grocery store, but instead we spent
$30. The difference between what we expected and what actually happened is connected
by the conjunction although.
"The weeds had grown wildly since I pulled them out last week." I pulled out the weeds
last week, but from then until now they grew rapidly. Since refers to the time period
following the last time I pulled out the weeds.
"We went to the store to buy extra food since we were expecting company for the
weekend." The conjunction since means because in this sentence. It introduces the
reason why we were buying extra food.
"I pulled out the weeds because Jane was allergic to them." Because introduces the
reason why Jane did not help me pull out the weeds.
"We went to the new supermarket for groceries because it was having a sale on fresh
fruit." Because introduces the reason why we went to the new store instead of the one we
usually went to.
2. When Scott signed up for karate classes, he had to bring a note from a parent or a guardian.
____________________________________________________________________________________
___________________
3. Sandra ran to the bus stop, but the bus had already gone.
____________________________________________________________________________________
____________________
4. I had checked all of my answers with a calculator, so I was surprised when I failed the test.
____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________
5. The Roberts family was ready to go on a picnic, yet the rain continued to fall.
____________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________
6. Although the salesman was very good at his job, he couldn't convince the minister to buy the
old purple car.
____________________________________________________________________________________
______________________
7. Tony is still working at the same job since his family owns the company.
____________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________
8. John was not able to get a good job because he refused to take a shower.
____________________________________________________________________________________
______________________
Exercise B: Circle all the conjunctions in the following sentences. Be careful,
because many of the conjunctions can also be adverbs or prepositions.
1. Hamburgers, pizzas and fried chicken are the most popular, although least healthy, fast foods.
2. Since last August, the stock market has been falling, but our economy is still very strong.
3. Everybody but Brenda passed the math test, although she was usually the best student.
4. Henry's car stalled a lot and made funny noises, so he took it to the garage.
5. George offered Alice a ride since he was going in that direction anyway.
6. We did not have any vinegar or lettuce, yet I was told to make a salad.
7. The policeman was tired and sick, yet he still had to direct traffic around the accident scene.
Conjunctions
A conjunction is a word that "joins". A conjunction joins two parts of a
sentence.
Here are some example conjunctions:
Coordinating Conjunctions Subordinating Conjunctions
and, but, or, nor, for, yet, so although, because, since, unless
Form
Single Word
for example: and, but, because, although
Function
Coordinating conjunctions are used to join two parts of a sentence that are grammatically equal.
The two parts may be single words or clauses, for example:
- Jack and Jill went up the hill.
- The water was warm, but I didn't go swimming.
Subordinating conjunctions are used to join a subordinate dependent clause to a main clause,
for example:
- I went swimming although it was cold.
Position
Coordinating conjunctions always come between the words or clauses that they join.
Coordinating Conjunctions
The short, simple conjunctions are called "coordinating conjunctions":
and, but, or, nor, for, yet, so
Look at these examples - the two elements that the coordinating conjunction
joins are shown in square brackets [ ]:
I like [tea] and [coffee].
[Ram likes tea], but [Anthony likes coffee].
When "and" is used with the last word of a list, a comma is optional:
He drinks beer, whisky, wine, and rum.
He drinks beer, whisky, wine and rum.
F A N B O Y S
subordinating
conjunction
+
Ram went swimming although it was raining.
Paired Conjunctions
Sentence Half B
Combine the following sentences into one sentence using paired conjunctions: both ... and;
not only ... but also; either ... or; neither ... nor
The speaker will not confirm the story. The speaker will not deny the story.
Playing tennis is good for your heart. Jogging is good for your health.
To the teacher: Read the following aloud and have students use paired conjunctions to
respond. Example: You know Peter. Do you know Bill? Student: I know both Peter and Jack.
You need to work on the weekend. Do you need to work in the evening?
I know your country has good universities. Does England have good universities?
He collects money. Does he collect stamps?
______________________________________________________________________________________
2. She will have to study hard. She will have to concentrate to do well on the exam.
______________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________
4. The speaker will not confirm the story. The speaker will not deny the story.
______________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________
8. Playing tennis is good for your heart. Jogging is good for your health.
______________________________________________________________________________________
C. Below you will find clauses that need a conjunction to create a compound sentence. Choose the
conjunction that makes the most sense in the sentence.
1. You can come to the meeting ____ you can hear all the information.
a. So
b. Because
c. While
d. Until
e. Nevertheless
a. So
b. Because
c. While
d. Until
e. Nevertheless
a. So
b. Because
c. While
d. Until
e. Nevertheless
a. So
b. Because
c. While
d. Until
e. Nevertheless
a. So
b. Because
c. While
d. Until
e. But
6. I refuse to pay anything _____ you do the work properly.
a. So
b. Because
c. While
d. Until
e. But
7. I’m going shopping for food this evening _____ I am having guests for dinner.
a. But
b. While
c. Until
d. Because
e. So
8. You seem happy _____ you are smiling all the time.
a. But
b. While
c. So
d. Because
e. Nevertheless
9. I don’t mind if you go out for lunch _____ we will take a break at noon.
a. So
b. Because
c. While
d. Until
e. Therefore
10. I don’t think she’s perfect for the job; _____ she’s certainly better qualified than Steve.
a. Until
b. Nevertheless
c. While
d. So
e. Therefore
Types of Conjunctions
A conjunction is a word that links words, phrases, or
clauses. There are three types of conjunctions:
coordinating conjunctions, correlative conjunctions,
and subordinating conjunctions.
Q 1: The sun came out. The day was still cold. Q 2: Winning was a challenge. Our team could do it.
The sun came out after the day was still cold. Winning was a challenge because our team could do it.
The sun came out or the day was still cold. Winning was a challenge, but our team could do it.
The sun came out, but the day was still cold. Winning was a challenge or our team could do it.
Q 5: Animals all need water. They may die without it. Q 6: Winning was hard. Our team did not know much.
Animals all need water or they may die without it. Winning was hard before our team did not know much.
Animals all need water, but they may die without it. Winning was hard because our team did not know much.
Animals all need water when they may die without it. Winning was hard or our team did not know much.
Q 7: I wanted to go to the party. I got sick. Q 8: The sun came out. The ice began to melt.
I wanted to go to the party, but I got sick. The sun came out and the ice began to melt.
I wanted to go to the party or I got sick. The sun came because the ice began to melt.
I wanted to go to the party because I got sick. The sun came out or the ice began to melt.
Commas With Conjunctions Worksheet
Remember that a subordinate conjunction may be added to a sentence, which must then be attached to
an independent sentence. If either sentence begins with a subordinate conjunction, then the expression
is not a comma splice. Identify the sentences below by marking them C (Correct) or CS (Comma Splice).
Underline the subordinate conjunction at the beginning of the dependent word group.
_____ 1. Since my roommate became known as “Mrs. Clean,” I have a new problem.
_____ 2. You guessed it, now Claire stays on my back about being messy.
_____ 3. She hides my shoes and clothing when I don’t put them away immediately.
_____ 4. Although I try to keep things picked up, I am sometimes too tired to put my things
away.
_____ 5. Claire waits until I leave the room, then she hides my shoes.
Each of the sentences below is either a comma splice or a run-on. Correct the sentences in
three different ways:
2. With a coordinate conjunction (but, and, or, yet, for, nor, so) preceded by a comma
3. With a subordinate conjunction added before one of the clauses (you may need to reverse
the order of the clauses).
B. The baby was frightened, he thought a monster was hiding in the shadows.
C. I have never had to do my own laundry before, my mother did it for me.
D. The kid using the other machine had the same problem he was folding ten pairs of pink
jockey shorts and a pair of maroon socks.
E. I saw his laundry, I decided that one rule for doing laundry is “Sort carefully.”