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Grammar Conjunctions
Conjunctions connect elem ents of a sentence or text and show how they relate to each other. Correctly
u sing conju nctions helps w riters avoid com m on gram m atical errors like ru n-on sentences, sentence
fragm ents, and comm a sp lices.
COORD IN ATIN G CON JUN CTION S
There are six coordinating conjunctions: for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so (F.A.N .B.O.Y.S.). They are u sed to
join ind ep end ent clau ses or gram m atically equ ivalent elem ents (for exam p le, mu ltip le nouns, m u ltip le
p rep ositional p hrases, or m u ltip le verb p hrases) w ithin a sentence.
ITEMS IN A LIST
 Lists w ith three or more items: If a list has m ore than tw o elem ents, each is sep arated from the next
by a com m a. A coord inating conju nction is used betw een the final tw o item s, and a comm a before
the conju nction is op tional (d epend ing on the pu rp ose and d iscip line for w hich the p ap er is w ritten). 

EXAMPLE: Erin slep t, stud ied , and ate. (The coord inating conju nction, and, connects the last tw o
p ast tense verbs in a list of three—slept, studied, ate.)
EXAMPLE: I d on’t know w hether Lew is w ent to w ork, to the hosp ital, to school, or to the store.
(The coord inating conju nction, or, connects the last tw o p rep ositional phrases in a
list of fou r—to work, to the hospital, to school, to the store.)
 Lists w ith tw o items: A com m a shou ld not be used before a coord inating conju nction that connects
only tw o elem ents in a list.
EXAMPLE: Tanya w ent to France and Belgiu m . (The coord inating conju nction, and, connects tw o
nou ns—France and Belgium.)
D EPEN D EN T AN D IN D EPEN D EN T CLAUSES
Conju nctions can be u sed to connect both dependent and independent clau ses.
 D ependent Clauses: A d ep end ent clau se contains a su bject and a verb, bu t by itself it is not a
com p lete thou ght. A list of d ep end ent clauses is treated like any other list of equ ivalent elem ents.
(See “Item s in a List” above.)
 Independent Clauses: An ind ep end ent clau se contains a su bject and a verb and is com p lete
stand ing by itself. When connecting tw o ind epend ent clau ses, a coord inating conju nction is
p reced ed by a com m a. Failu re to includ e the com m a creates a run-on sentence.
IN CORRECT: Tanya w ent to France but Erin stayed hom e. (ru n-on sentence)
C ORRECT: Tanya w ent to France, but Erin stayed hom e.
 Caution: When a coord inating conju nction joins tw o elem ents that are not ind ep end ent clau ses, it
shou ld not be accom p anied by a comm a.
IN CORRECT: Tanya flew from Utah to Ohio, and then drove back. (The second p hrase—then drove
back—d oes not have a su bject, so it is not an independent clause. Thus, the
coordinating conjunction actually connects tw o verb p hrases—flew from Utah to Ohio
and then drove back— and the com ma before the conju nction shou ld be om itted .)
C ORRECT: Tanya flew from Utah to Ohio and then drove back.
C ORRECT: Tanya flew from Utah to Ohio, and then she drove back. (With the ad d ition of a
su bject [she] to the second p hrase, the p hrase becom es an ind ep end ent clau se. N ow
the conju nction connects tw o ind ep end ent clauses and need s a com m a before it.)
Utah Valley University Writing Center
Revised 12/15/2008
Grammar Conjunctions
CORRELATIVE CON JUN CTION S
Like coord inating conjunctions, correlative conjunctions connect gramm atically equivalent p arts of a
sentence and show how they are related , bu t u nlike coord inating conjunctions, correlative conju nctions
alw ays w ork in p airs: neither . . . nor; either . . . or; not only . . . but also; whether . . . or.
EXAMPLE: N either Tanya nor Erin w ent to Africa. (The conju nction, neither . . . nor, connects the
nou ns, Tanya and Erin.)
Tanya not only flew to Sou th Am erica, but she also sailed to Antarctica. (The
conju nction, not only . . . but also, connects the tw o clau ses—Tanya flew to South
A merica and she sailed to A ntarctica.)
S UBORD IN ATIN G CON JUN CTION S
A subordinating conjunction p laced at the beginning of an ind ep end ent clau se changes it into a
subordinate or dependent clause (no longer a com p lete sentence). It introd u ces the d epend ent clau se and
show s how it relates to the ind ep end ent clau se to w hich it is joined . There are m any su bord inating
conju nctions. Som e of the m ost com m on are after, although, because, before, if, since, though, that, until, when,
where, whether, which, while, who, and why. (N OTE: Failu re to join a subord inate clause to an ind ep end ent
clau se is one of the easiest w ays to create a sentence fragment.)
C ORRECT: Tanya travels a lot. Erin d oes not. (Tw o com plete sentences w ith no conju nctions.)
IN CORRECT: Although Tanya travels a lot. Erin d oes not. (The su bord inating conju nction, A lthough,
has m ad e the first clause into a d ep end ent clause. By itself, it is a sentence fragm ent.)
C ORRECT: Although Tanya travels a lot, Erin d oes not. (The d ep end ent clau se, A lthough Tanya
travels a lot, is attached to the ind ep end ent clau se, Erin does not, by a com m a.)
CON JUN CTIVE A D VERBS
A conjunctive adverb is often u sed as a transition. It is p laced at the beginning of one sentence
(ind ep end ent clau se) to show how it relates to the p reviou s sentence. Som e com m on conju nctive ad verbs
are also, consequently, finally, furthermore, however, meanwhile, nevertheless, next, still, therefore, and thus.
Unlike su bord inating conju nctions, con ju nctive ad verbs d o not m ake clau ses d ep end ent. Consequ ently,
clau ses that begin w ith conju nctive ad verbs m ust be treated as ind epend ent clauses . They m ay not be
joined to other sentences by a com m a alone; d oing so creates a comma splice. (If a conju nctive ad verb
introd u ces a sentence that is closely related to the p reviou s one, the two sentences m ay be connected by a
sem icolon instead of a period .)
IN CORRECT: Erin hates to travel, consequently, she stays home. (com m a sp lice)
C ORRECT: Erin hates to travel; consequently, she stays home. (Tw o ind ep end ent clau ses m ay be
joined by a sem icolon to show that they are closely related .)
C ORRECT: Erin hates to travel. Consequently, she stays home. (Tw o ind ep end ent clau ses m ay be
sep arated by a p eriod .)
Utah Valley University Writing Center
Revised 12/15/2008