CONJUNCTIONS
The word ‘conjunction’ is made up of two parts – ‘con’ which
means ‘to bring together’, and ‘junction’ which means ‘a joint’. So,
conjunctions are the joining words that bring similar types of structures
together and join them in a sentence. They may join nouns / pronouns with nouns
/ pronouns, verb with verbs, adjectives with adjectives, adverbs with adverbs,
phrases with phrases or clauses with clauses.
Examples of Conjunctions : and, or, but, so, because,
though, although, therefore, yet, unless etc. Sometimes, a few words are also
used together to form conjunctions; as for example – along with, together with,
as well as, no sooner ____ than, hardly / scarcely ____ when etc.
Joining different parts of speech, phrases or clauses by
using conjunctions helps in overcoming unnecessary repetition and reduces
redundancy. This results in economy of words and makes our expression concise
and effective. Not to forget that many words which look conjunctions at first
instance, can also be used as other parts of speech. For example, ‘but’ can be used
as a conjunction as well as a preposition, ‘till’ & ‘until’ can be used as
conjunctions as well as prepositions. Hence, due care must be taken to use
words judiciously and justifiably to bring out clarity in what one wants to
convey.
Different aspects related to study of conjunctions are as
follows.
- Types of Conjunctions
- Conjunctions vs Prepositions
- Conjunctions vs Relative Pronouns
- Conjunctions vs Adverbs
- Points to Keep in Mind to Make Correct Use of Conjunctions.