Conjunction Junction

Introduction

We use conjunctions all the time. But can you recognize them? All of them? Some are easy to spot such as and, but, or. Some are a bit harder like although, because, when.

Please note that this is neither an exhaustive list of all conjunctions nor a complete set of punctuation rules concerning them. It is intended to be a helpful resource. For additional information, please consult the current Style Guide, Chicago Manual of Style, or another trusted resource.

What is a Conjunction?

Some of us grew up listening to Schoolhouse Rock during the commercial breaks in our Saturday morning cartoons. Conjunction Junction is one of those songs that sticks with you. As the song explains, conjunctions are responsible for "hooking up words and phrases and clauses."

Types of Conjunctions

The three most common types of conjunctions are coordinating, subordinating, and correlative. Let's explore…

Coordinating

This is the one that we all know and love. A coordinating conjunction is a word used to connect words, clauses, or sentences that have a relationship.

An easy way to remember coordinating conjunctions is the mnemonic acronym FANBOYS.

F = for
A = and
N = nor
B = but
O = or
Y = yet
S = so

Punctuating Coordinating Conjunctions

A comma is used to separate independent clauses (a.k.a. complete sentences) joined together by a conjunction.

Jean absolutely loves transcribing, but she struggles with comma placement.
Tom plays in an adult soccer league, and he coaches soccer for his son's team.

But watch out for those pesky comma splices! When two full sentences are related to each other but are missing a conjunction, they need to be separated by a period (or semicolon), not a comma.

No → Jean absolutely loves transcribing, she struggles with comma placement.
No → Tom plays in an adult soccer league, he coaches soccer for his son's team.

When you have a list of three or more elements, use commas to separate them. At TranscribeMe, we do use the Oxford comma (also known as the serial comma), which is the comma before the conjunction and the final element in the series.

I love ice cream, chocolate, and cake.
Easter, Halloween, and Christmas are my favorite holidays because of all the candy.

If the list items are separated by a conjunction, there is no need for a comma between the items.

I do not like broccoli or spinach or asparagus.

Subordinating

This type of conjunction is one that most people struggle with recognizing as a conjunction. In fact, they are so sneaky that when used as a clause, they have two aliases: dependent and restrictive. To help clear the fog a little bit, we have not only mentioned them in the comma document Commas, Commas, Everywhere! but we also went into further detail in the document Subordinate Clauses.

A subordinating conjunction is a word used to connect an independent (or non-restrictive) clause to a dependent (or restrictive) clause. An independent clause can stand alone as a complete sentence. A dependent clause cannot stand alone as a complete sentence but rather provides additional information about the independent clause.

These are examples of subordinate clauses within a complete sentence. They cannot stand on their own and are providing additional information to the independent clause.

After the show, everyone went their own way.
- After the show provides additional detail to when everyone went their own way.
She did a wonderful job even though she didn't have enough time.
- Even though she didn't have enough time provides additional detail about how she did a wonderful job.

Some examples of commonly used subordinating conjunctions:

after	even though	since	until	whether
although	if	so that	when	while
as	in order that	than	whenever	why
because	once	that	where
before	provided that	though	whereas
even if	rather than	unless	wherever

Punctuating Subordinating Conjunctions

Placement of the subordinate clauses within the sentence does not matter; however, if it precedes the independent clause, it should be offset with a comma. If it comes after the independent clause, no comma is needed. If it is in the middle of the sentence, a pair of offsetting commas are required. This is because the subordinate clause can be removed, and the sentence would still make sense.

Be careful! Relative pronouns can also introduce dependent clauses, but they serve as the subject of the dependent clause.

I hiked the trail that leads to the lake.
- I hiked the trail is a complete sentence; that leads to the lake provides additional information about which trail.

Some examples of commonly used relative pronouns:

that	whichever	whoever	whomever	whosoever
which	who	whom	whose

Correlative

Correlative conjunctions always come in pairs of equal relation to one another. Some examples of commonly used correlative conjunctions:

both / and	neither / nor	not only / but	such / that
either / or	no sooner / than	scarcely / when	whether / or

Did you know that TranscibeMe does both transcription and translation services?
She could either go to the beach or to the mountains for vacation.
Tommy could neither forgive nor forget what she had done.
No sooner had we finished the project than another began.
Not only does she sing but she dances.
Not only is Brian going to school but he also works full time.
The baby had scarcely fallen asleep when someone rang the doorbell.
It's such a thin piece of fabric that you can see right through it.
Whether Terry decided to go or not was irrelevant.

Punctuating Correlative Conjunctions

Commas rarely separate the pairs of conjunctions; however, one may be used in order to accommodate another grammar rule such as offsetting a dependent clause.

Both the diet, which was very restrictive, and the grueling workouts contributed to her new image.

The Missing Link(s)

Hmm… I know conjunctions, and I think this document missed a few. What about however, therefore, meanwhile, and such?

Conjunctive Adverbs

Conjunctive adverbs are, as it sounds, adverbs that act as conjunctions. Some examples of commonly used conjunctive adverbs:

after all	for example	indeed	moreover	otherwise
also	furthermore	in fact	nevertheless	similarly
as a result	hence	in other words	next	still
besides	however	instead	nonetheless	then
consequently	in addition	likewise	on the contrary	therefore
finally	incidentally	meanwhile	on the other hand	thus

Punctuating Conjunctive Adverbs

When two independent clauses are connected by a conjunctive adverb, you may either use a semicolon before and a comma after or separate the independent clauses using a period. At TranscribeMe, we do prefer not to use semicolons.

Your work is flawless; however, your punctuality needs to improve.
He always went above and beyond; therefore, he was the obvious choice for the promotion.

Or:

Your work is flawless. However, your punctuality needs to improve.
He always went above and beyond. Therefore, he was the obvious choice for the promotion.

But not:

Your work is flawless, however, your punctuality needs to improve.
He always went above and beyond, therefore, he was the obvious choice for the promotion.

If a conjunctive adverb is used in any other position within a sentence, it is offset by commas (as a nonessential or nonrestrictive clause).

After all, Tim was the first one to arrive.
Melissa did not, however, provide the documents.

Dangling Conjunctions: We hear them a lot, so.

Is it a false start, or?

Conversational language is much different than written language. Sometimes, people do not necessarily follow the rules of grammar when speaking. Although so-called dangling conjunctions do exist, they are not grammatically correct.

Here is an audio link to Dangling Conjunctions and the transcript of it below that describes dangling conjunctions in a way that you can truly hear what they sound like in speech.

Okay. So I think that it is possible to end a sentence with a conjunction and have it be a real trailing off, but. Yeah, like that. However, some people just end their sentences with conjunctions as if to say, "And that's the way it is."

I do it this way, so.
That's what I think, but.

And see how that's the end of the sentence? At that point, we do a comma, we do the conjunction, and then we do a period. They aren't trying to say something else. That dangling so or but is the entire message of, "This is how it is."

Note: Before using a dangling conjunction, make sure its purpose is to end a thought. If it's a lead in to the next thought, then it should not be a dangling conjunction.

That's how I'd do it, but. *shrugs and walks away* ← I've ended my thought.
I was going out, and. It was raining. ← The and leads into the next thought, so it should be: I was going out, and it was raining.