Subordinating Conjunctions-

DEFINITION

A subordinating conjunction is a conjunction (a connecting word or phrase) that introduces

a dependent clause, joining it to a main clause. Also called a subordinator. Compare
with coordinating conjunction.

Most subordinating conjunctions are single words (such as because, before, when).
However, some subordinating conjunctions consist of more than one word (such as even
though, as long as, except that).

See Examples and Observations below. Also see:

Sentence-Imitation Exercise: Complex Sentences

Clause

Complementizers

Complex Sentence

Concessive

Exercise in Identifying Adverb Clauses

Interrogative Word

Relativization

Subordinate Clause

That-Clause

COMMON SUBORDINATING CONJUNCTIONS

Cause
as
because
in order that
since
so that

Concession and Comparison

although
as
as though
even though
just as
though
whereas
while

Condition
even if
if
in case
provided that
unless

Place
where
wherever

Time
after
as soon as
as long as
before
once
still
till
until
when
whenever
while

EXAMPLES AND OBSERVATIONS:

"English has a wide range of subordinate conjunctions: that, if, though, although, because,
when, while, after, before, and so forth. . . . They are placed before a
complete sentence or independent clause to make that clause dependent. This dependent
clause now needs to attach to another clause that is independent. Otherwise, a
sentence fragment results:

*When Doris bought the cake.

(Mark Honegger, English Grammar for Writing. Houghton Mifflin, 2005)

"Although my grades were very good, I found myself unable to settle down in the high
school."
(Maya Angelou, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. Random House, 1969)

"You won't lag behind, because you'll have the speed."

(Dr. Seuss, Oh, the Places You'll Go!. Random House, 1990)
"As soon as the light in the bedroom went out, there was a stirring and a fluttering all through
the far buildings."
(George Orwell, Animal Farm, 1945)

"Unlike most babies, Stuart could walk as soon as he was born."

(E.B. White, Stuart Little. Harper, 1945)

"If everyone demanded peace instead of another television set, then there would be peace."
(John Lennon)

"The secret of my incredible energy and efficiency in getting work done is a simple one. . . .
[A]nyone can do any amount of work, provided it isn't the work he is supposed to be doing at
that moment."
(Robert Benchley, "How to Get Things Done." The Benchley Roundup. Harper & Row, 1954)

"I can believe anything, provided that it is quite incredible."

(Oscar Wilde)

"Every man, wherever he goes, is encompassed by a cloud of comforting convictions, which

move with him like flies on a summer day."
(Bertrand Russell, "Dreams and Facts." Skeptical Essays, 1928)

"A platitude is simply a truth repeated until people get tired of hearing it."
(Stanley Baldwin, speech in the House of Commons, May 29, 1924)

"I had a funny feeling as I saw the house disappear, as though I had written a poem and it
was very good and I had lost it and would never remember it again."
(Raymond Chandler, The High Window, 1942)

Subordinating Conjunctions and Prepositions

"Some words are both subordinators and prepositions. If the word introduces a finite clause,
it is a subordinator; if it introduces a phrase, it is a preposition:

subordinator: I saw her after I had my interview.

preposition: I saw her after the interview."

(Sidney Greenbaum and Gerald Nelson, An Introduction to English Grammar, 3rd ed.
Pearson, 2009)

Three Main Types of Subordinating Conjunctions

"Most subordinate clauses are signaled by the use of a subordinating conjunction. There are
three main types:

- simple subordinators consist of one word:

although, if, since, that, unless, until, whereas, while, etc.

- complex subordinators consist of more than one word:

in order that, such that, granted (that), assuming (that), so (that), as long as, insofar as, in
case, etc.
- correlative subordinators consist of 'pairs' of words which relate two parts of the sentence:
as . . . so . . ., scarcely . . . when . . ., if . . . then . . ., etc.

(David Crystal, Rediscover Grammar, 3rd ed. Longman, 2004)

"I am always doing that which I can not do, in order that I may learn how to do it."
(Pablo Picasso)

"If I had to live my life again, I'd make the same mistakes, only sooner."
(Tallulah Bankhead)

"These are white-looking figures, whereas the men who are about to spar have on dark
headguards that close grimly around the face like an executioner's hood."
(Edward Hoagland, "Heart's Desire," 1973)

Sentence Combining With Subordinating Conjunctions (1908)

Combine the following pairs of sentences by means of the conjunctions if, because,
although, or while.
Notice that each new sentence has two clauses, one independent and one dependent, and is
therefore complex. Notice also that the dependent clause often comes first.

1. I will help the man. He deserves it.

2. Mary came up. We were talking about her.
3. I admire Mr. Brown. He is my enemy.
4. I came. You sent for me.
5. Evelyn will come to school. She is able.
6. He knows he is wrong. He will not admit it.
7. The man is rich. He is unhappy.
8. The Mexican War came on. Polk was President.
9. I shall come tomorrow. You send for me.
10. You wish to be believed. You must tell the truth.
11. The dog bites. He ought to be muzzled.
12. It would be foolish to set out. It is raining.
13. Call at my office. You happen to be in town.
14. The cat ran up a tree. She was chased by a dog.
15. The sun shines brightly. It is very cold.
16. Boston became a large city. It has a good harbor.
(Henry P. Emerson and Ida C. Bender, English Spoken and Written: Lessons in Language,
Literature, and Composition. Macmillan, 1908)

Also Known As: subordinator, subordinate conjunction, complementizer

Coordinating Conjunctions-
A coordinating conjunction is a conjunction (such as and) that joins two similarly constructed
and/or syntactically equal words, phrases, or clauses within a sentence. Also called
a coordinator.

The coordinating conjunctions in English are and, but, for, nor, or, so, yet. Compare
with subordinating conjunctions.

In some cases, as shown below, a coordinating conjunction may be used as a transition at

the beginning of a new sentence.

EXAMPLES

"All the long way to school

And all the way back,
I've looked and I've looked
And I've kept careful track,
But all that I've noticed,
Except my own feet,
Was a horse and a wagon
On Mulberry Street."
(Dr. Seuss, And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street. Vanguard, 1937)
enough to consider divorce; murder, yes, but divorce, never."

"She must have been tired, for she fell asleep the moment she inclined her head."
(Nikos Kazantzakis, Report to Greco, 1965)

"Man is the only animal that laughs and weeps, for he is the only animal that is struck with the
difference between what things are, and what they might have been."(William Hazlitt)

"In no other city does life seem such a perpetual balancing of debits and credits, of
evils and virtues, as it does in New York. No other city seems so charming yetso crude, so
civilized yet so uncouth."(Joseph Epstein, "You Take Manhattan," 1983)

"She does not come here to worship or to pray, but she has a sense of rightness and ritual
about being here, a sense of duty fulfilled, of some unstated covenant's renewal."
(Stephen King, Rose Madder, 1995)

"It's a sad day when you find out that it's not accident or time or fortune but just yourself that
kept things from you."
(Lillian Hellman, Pentimento, 1973)

"I didn't know, nor did any of my family seem to know, that this medicinal leaf my grandma
burned was marijuana."
(E.L. Doctorow, World's Fair, 1985)

"The mind plays tricks on you. You play tricks back! It's like you're unraveling a big cable-knit
sweater that someone keeps
knitting and knitting and knitting and knitting and knitting and knitting."
(Pee Wee in Pee-wee's Big Adventure, 1985)

"It's tough to stay married. My wife kisses the dog on the lips, yet she won't drink from my
glass."(Rodney Dangerfield)

"His ratty home under the pig trough was too chilly, so he fixed himself a cozy nest in the
barn behind the grain bins."
(E.B. White, Charlotte's Web. Harper & Row, 1952)

"You have the American dream! The American dream is to be born in the gutter and have
nothing. Then to rise and have all the money in the world, and stick it in your ears and go
'PLBTLBTLBLTLBTLBLT!' That's a pretty good dream."(Eddie Izzard)

"They were not cordial to Negro patronage, unless you were a celebrity like
Bojangles. So Harlem Negroes did not like the Cotton Club and never appreciated its Jim
Crow policy in the very heart of their dark community. Nordid ordinary Negroes like the
growing influx of whites toward Harlem after sundown . . .."
(Langston Hughes, The Big Sea, 1940)

"As every teacher knows, the numerical mark changes the entire experience andmeaning of
learning. It introduces a fierce competition among students by providing sharply
differentiated symbols of success and failure. Grading provides an 'objective' measure of
human performance and creates the unshakable illusion that accurate calculations can be
made of worthiness."
(Neil Postman, Technopoly: The Surrender of Culture to Technology. Alfred A. Knopf, 1992)

The Use of a Coordinating Conjunction at the Beginning of a Sentence

- "I was welcome briefly. I compare it to being a bum on Thanksgiving Day. Do-gooders invite
you to the shelter and give you a beautiful turkey dinner. But it's a Thursday-only deal. Don't
come back on Friday."
(Saul Bellow, More Die of Heartbreak. William Morrow, 1987)

- "'Do you understand how there could be any writing in a spider's web?'

"'Oh, no,' said Dr. Dorian. 'I don't understand it. But for that matter I don't understand how a
spider learned to spin a web in the first place. When the words appeared, everyone said they
were a miracle. But nobody pointed out that the web itself is a miracle.'

"'What's miraculous about a spider's web?' said Mrs. Arable. 'I don't see why you say a web is
a miracle--it's just a web.'

"'Ever try to spin one?' asked Dr. Dorian."

(E.B. White, Charlotte's Web. Harper & Row, 1952)

- And did those feet in ancient time

Walk upon England’s mountains green?
And was the holy Lamb of God,
On England's pleasant pastures seen?

And did the Countenance Divine,

Shine forth upon our clouded hills?
And was Jerusalem builded here,
Among these dark Satanic Mills?
(William Blake, "Jerusalem." Preface to Milton, 1804-1810)

- "And at the beginning of a sentence? During the 19th century, some schoolteachers took
against the practice of beginning a sentence with a word like but or and, presumably
because they noticed the way young children often overused them in their writing. But
instead of gently weaning the children away from overuse, they banned the usage
altogether! Generations of children were taught they should 'never' begin a sentence with a
conjunction. Some still are.

"There was never any authority behind this condemnation. It isn't one of the rules laid down
by the first prescriptive grammarians. Indeed, one of those grammarians, Bishop Lowth,
uses dozens of examples of sentences beginning with and. And in the 20th century, Henry
Fowler, in his famous Dictionary of Modern English Usage, went so far as to call it a
'superstition.' He was right. There are sentences starting with And that date back to Anglo-
Saxon times."
(David Crystal, The Story of English in 100 Words. St. Martin's Press, 2012)

Pronunciation: ko-ORD-i-nate-ing kun-JUNK-shun

Also Known As: coordinator

Correlative Conjunctions-
In English grammar, a correlative conjunction is a paired conjunction (such as not only . . .
but also) that links balanced words, phrases, and clauses. Also known as a paired
coordinator and a conjunctive pair.

The elements connected by correlative conjunctions are usually parallel--that is, similar in
length and grammatical form. Each element is called a conjoin.

These are the primary correlative conjunctions in English:

both . . . and
either . . . or
neither . . . nor
not . . . but
not only . . . but also

Other pairs that sometimes have a coordinating function include the following:
as . . . as
just as . . . so
the more . . . the less
the more . . . the more
no sooner . . . than
so . . . as
whether . . . or

See Examples and Observations below. Also see:

Comparative Correlative

Compound Subjects and Practice in Identifying Compound Subjects

Conjunct

Coordinating Words, Phrases, and Clauses

Coordination

Dirimens Copulatio

Disjunction

Paired Construction

Parallelism and Parallel Structure

Practice in Identifying Coordinating and Correlative Conjunctions

Sentence Building With Coordinators

Etymology
From the Latin, "to report, carry back"
Examples and Observations

"Both my mother and grandmother were strong women who overcame many obstacles and
kept moving forward."
(Mira Tasich, Good Bye Job, Hello Life: Finding Purpose Beyond Work. Balboa Press, 2014)

"I have neither been there nor done that."

(Bart Simpson of The Simpsons)

"I noticed that I couldn't move either my head or my arms."

(Andrew S. Grove, Swimming Across. Grand Central, 2001)

"By about midnight, the other travelers had found a place to sleep, either in the huts of the
village or under the coach itself."
(James Fenton, "Road to Cambodia." The Granta Book of Travel, 1998)

"Those who would give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety
deserve neither liberty nor safety."(Benjamin Franklin)

"I like not only to be loved, but also to be told that I am loved."(George Eliot in a letter to Mrs.
Burne-Jones, May 11, 1875)

"To accomplish great things, we must not only act, but also dream; not onlyplan, but
also believe."(Attributed to Anatole France

"The loss we felt was not the loss of ham but the loss of pig. He had evidently become
precious to me, not that he represented a distant nourishment in a hungry time, but that he
had suffered in a suffering world."
(E.B. White, "Death of a Pig," 1948)

"Education is not the filling of a pail but the lighting of a fire."(Attributed to William Butler
Yeats)

"The fascination of shooting as a sport depends almost wholly on whether you are at the
right or wrong end of the gun."
(P. G. Wodehouse, Mr. Mulliner Speaking, 1929

"I couldn't distinguish whether I was smelling the clutching sound of misery orhearing the
cloying odor of death."
(Maya Angelou, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, 1970

"Neither the life of an individual nor the history of a society can be understood without
understanding both."
(C. Wright Mills, The Sociological Imagination, 1959

"In nature there are neither rewards nor punishments; there are only
consequences."(Attributed to Robert G. Ingersoll
"In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies but the silence of our
friends."(Martin Luther King, Jr.

"It is difficult to produce a television documentary that is both incisive andprobing when
every twelve minutes one is interrupted by twelve dancing rabbits singing about toilet
paper."(Attributed to Rod Serling

Usage: Restrictions on Multiple Correlatives

- "A rule of traditional grammar limits the use of correlative conjunctions to two elements.
Sentences using three or more correlative conjunctions are widely viewed as erroneous in
their construction. Thus sentences like the following are widely viewed as mistakes: Both her
mother, her father, and her sister are great public speakers. The team has neither the talent,
discipline, nor stamina to win the championship."
(The American Heritage Guide to Contemporary Usage and Style. Houghton Mifflin, 2005)

- "According to didactic tradition, the use of correlative coordinators is unacceptable when

there are three or more conjoins:

?We are both willing, able, and ready to carry out the survey. [1}
?Either the Minister, or the Under-secretary, or the Permanent Secretary will attend the
meeting. [2]
?Tompkins has neither the personality, the energy, nor the experience to win this election.
[3]

". . . Although commonly stigmatized, multiple correlatives such as [1-3] can add clarity to
constructions whose complexity might otherwise cause confusion. For this reason, such
constructions are sometimes used even in careful written English, eg in the rubric of an
examination paper:

Candidates are required to answer EITHER Question 1 OR Question 2 ORQuestions 3 and 4."

(Randolph Quirk, Sidney Greenbaum, Geoffrey Leech, and Jan Svartvik, A Grammar of
Contemporary English. Longman, 1985)

-"Either lead, follow, or get out of the way."

(a common modern proverb)

Pronunciation: kor-REL-i-tiv kon-JUNGK-shun