Using Conjunctions to Show the Relationship Between Ideas
You should join ideas together whenever they are closely related. When they are, you have a few options for joining them.
If the ideas are of equal importance, write each idea so that it is a grammatically complete sentence (i.e. it has a subject, verb, and expresses a complete idea), and then use one of the two following techniques:
1. Use a comma and a coordinating conjunction to join the two ideas. There are only seven coordinating conjunctions:
And
But
For
So*
Nor
Or
Yet**
Example: Mrs. Smith likes bright colors, so she wears yellow polka-dot dresses.
* "So" is NOT a coordinate conjunction when the meaning is "so that."
** "Yet" is NOT a coordinate conjunction when the meaning relates to time (e.g. She hasn't finished her work yet.).
2. Use a conjunctive adverb and a semicolon to join the two ideas. There a number of conjunctive adverbs. Listed below are some of them:
Also
Accordingly
Anyway
Besides
Certainly
Consequently
Conversely
Finally
Further
Furthermore
Hence
However
Incidentally
Indeed
Instead
Likewise
Meanwhile
Moreover
Namely
Nevertheless
Next
Now
Otherwise
Similarly
Still
Subsequently
Then
Therefore
Thus
Undoubtedly
You can identify conjunctive adverbs because they can be placed in more than one position in the sentence and still make sense (e.g. She wanted to go home; however, she knew she had to finish her paper. OR She wanted to go home; she knew, however, she had to finish her paper.).
Example: Mrs. Smith likes bright colors; therefore, she wears yellow polka-dot dresses.
If the ideas are closely related but NOT equally important, then you can join the ideas with a subordinating conjunction.
First decide which idea you want to emphasize; write this idea as a complete sentence. Then join the other idea to a subordinating conjunction; this forms a subordinate (dependent) clause. This new clause can not stand alone. You must connect it to a complete sentence. A list of some common subordinate conjunctions is given below:
after
although
as
as (far/soon) as
as if
as though
because
before
even if
even though
how
if
if only
inasmuch as
in case
in order that
insofar as
in that
lest
no matter how
now that
once
provided that
rather than
since
so that
supposing that
than
though
till
unless
until
when
whenever
where
whereas
wherever
whether
while
If you place the subordinate clause at the beginning at the sentence, you should follow it with a comma. If you place the subordinate clause at the end of the sentence, you do not need to precede it with a comma UNLESS it is clearly additional (non-restrictive) information.
Example:
Original ideas:
Mrs. Smith likes bright colors.
Mrs. Smith wears yellow polka-dot dresses.
Ideas joined with a subordinate conjunction:
Because Mrs. Smith likes bright colors, she wears yellow polka-dot dresses.
Mrs. Smith wears yellow polka-dot dresses because she likes bright colors.
