What are the Conjunctions in English Grammar?

A Conjunction is a word or group of words that is used to join the words, phrases, clauses or sentences together. It belongs to one of the Parts of Speech in English Grammar.

Few examples of Conjunctions are and, or, but, when, because, since, unless, so, if, besides, therefore, etc.

Here are few example statements for conjunctions.

Now let us understand the different types of Conjunctions which are there in English Grammar.

Also Read: What is Grammar? | (Grammar definition, types & examples) | Best Guide 2025

What are the different types of Conjunctions in English Grammar?

There are three types of Conjunctions. Those are,

1) Coordinating Conjunction

2) Subordinating Conjunction

3) Correlative Conjunction

Now let us learn each of it in detail.

What is Coordinating Conjunction?

Coordinating Conjunction is a type of conjunction that is used for joining the same grammatical types like two Phrases, two Clauses, two Sentences, etc.

So, there are 7 types of Coordinating Conjunction in English Grammar and you can simply remember them by considering the word “FANBOYS”.

FANBOYS
forandnorbutoryetso

Now let us understand this concept with few example statements.

Coordinating Conjunction for words

Here, it is used to join the two same types of words such as nouns, verb, adjectives, etc.

Coordinating Conjunction for Phrases

It is used to join the two phrases.

Coordinating Conjunction for Clauses

Coordinating Conjunction is used to join the two independent clauses and these clauses can have at least one Subject and a Verb.

What is Subordinating Conjunction?

Subordinating Conjunction is a type of Conjunction that is used to join dependent and independent clauses.

Here are a few examples of Subordinating Conjunction: though, if, until, unless, since, while, because, before, which, after, what, when, etc.

Example Sentences

Sometimes, few Adverbs like “until”, “after” and “before” function as Conjunctions.

The Subordinating Conjunction defines the relationship between the clauses. The below table shows few different types of relationships with examples.

Type of RelationshipSubordinating Conjunction
Timeonce, until, once, before, when
Placewherever, where
Causebecause, as, since
Conditionif, unless, else
Contrastalthough, though, whereas

Here are few rules of Subordinating Conjunction that you need to understand it.

Grammar Rules of Subordinating Conjunction

Rule 1: The Subordinating Conjunction has to be part of the dependent clause.

Ex: I can stay here until my friend arrives.

Here, in the above example sentence, there are two clauses that are used. That is the Independent Clause and Dependent Clause.

Sentence = I can stay here (Independent clause) + until + my friend arrives (Dependent clause)

Quick Reference: Independent Clauses are those clauses that are independent of other clauses and can be referred to as a Sentence. Whereas, Dependent Clauses depends on the other clauses and cannot be a sentence because it doesn’t have the complete message.

Rule 2: It need not necessarily be in the middle of the sentence and also can come before the independent clause.

So, the above sentence can also be written as,

Ex: Until my friend arrives, I can stay here.

Sentence = Until + my friend arrives, (Dependent clause) + I can stay here (Independent clause)

Rule 3: If the dependent clause comes first, then use a comma before the independent clause.

Note: The correct statement example is already given in the 2nd Rule.

What is Correlative Conjunction?

Correlative Conjunction is a pair of Conjunction (or pair of words) that joins grammatically equal elements in the sentence.

Few examples are, either – or, neither – nor, not only – but also, both – and, etc.

Example statements:

Note: Correlative Conjunction should use only parallel structure which means the two elements should take the same grammatical form.

Starting a sentence with a Conjunction

Most people believe in a myth that, “A Conjunction cannot be used at the start of the sentence”. But, that is not true in all cases. You can still use the conjunctions at the beginning but there are some rules to follow.

1) A subordinating conjunction can come at the start of a sentence, but only if the dependent clause is followed by an independent clause.

Ex: Until my friend arrives, I can stay here. (from the above example)

i.e, S: Until + my friend arrives, (Dependent clause) + I can stay here (Independent clause)

2) A dependent clause on its own is also known as a sentence fragment.

Ex: I can stay here until my friend arrives.

Note: Although fragments are mostly used in speech and informal writing, they should generally be avoided in academic writing.

Quiz Time! (Test your knowledge here)

[HDquiz quiz = 166]

Summary: (What are the Conjunctions in English Grammar?)

What are the Conjunctions in English Grammar?
(What are the Conjunctions in English Grammar?)

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