Connector / Connective Review
Coordinators, adverbs and transition words
Connector Chart
| COORDINATORS | PAIRED SUBORDINATORS | SUBORDINATORS | LINKING ADVERBS / TRANSITION WORDS |
|---|---|---|---|
Coordinators join two words, phrases or independent clauses. They mostly occur mid-sentence with a comma placed before the conjunction. They may also *begin a sentence. |
These join equivalent sentence elements such as one noun phrase with another noun phrase. These occur as paired words. (Also see Focusing Adverbs.) |
These join a dependent clause to an independent clause. They occur at the beginning of sentences with a comma separating the clause mid-sentence or they occur mid-sentence with no comma. |
These join two independent clauses or sentences. They can be used at the beginning of a sentence or mid- sentence (with punctuation). They transition the reader from the thought of one sentence to the thought in the next. |
It was cold, and the wind was blowing. (different subjects) It was raining, so he opened his umbrella. He opened his umbrella, but it was blown backward. He bought a good umbrella, yet it broke in the wind. |
He both lost his umbrella and became wet. Neither his umbrella nor his coat kept him dry. His umbrella blew backward and so did his coat. There was more wind than he expected. The rain was as bad as the wind. |
Though it was raining, he continued walking. He walked though it was raining. Besides being windy, it was rainy. The wind was strong besides being cold. |
He opened his umbrella. However, the wind blew it away. It was windy and cold. Moreover, it was raining. His umbrella blew away in the wind. Otherwise, he would have used it. In addition, it was windy and cold. |
ADDITION |
ADDITION both...and, not only ...also, not only ... but also, and...too, and so |
ADDITION |
ADDITION / ORDERING in addition, furthermore, moreover, additionally, besides, firstly, secondly, next, finally |
ALTERNATIVE |
ALTERNATIVE |
ALTERNATIVE |
ALTERNATIVE |
CAUSE-EFFECT |
CAUSE-EFFECT |
CAUSE-EFFECT (reason) because, since, now that, as, in order, as long as, inasmuch, because of, due to, owing to, so that, in order that, if only because |
CAUSE-EFFECT therefore, consequently, as a consequence, as a result, thus, hence, accordingly |
COMPARISON
|
COMPARISON |
COMPARISON as (like), as if, as though |
COMPARISON |
CONDITION |
CONDITION |
CONDITION if, only if, unless, even if, whether, whether or not, provided (that), in case, in the event (that) |
CONDITION otherwise, in the event (that), anyway, anyhow |
CONTRAST |
CONTRAST |
CONTRAST (contrary outcome) although, even though, though, while, whereas, despite, in spite of, regardless of |
CONTRAST nevertheless, nonetheless, however, on the one hand, on the other hand, in contrast to, in contrast, on the contrary |
EMPHASIS
|
EMPHASIS
|
EMPHASIS
|
EMPHASIS |
PLACE
|
PLACE
|
PLACE |
PLACE
|
TIME
|
TIME
|
TIME after, before, when, while, since, as, until, as soon as, by the time, once |
TIME first, second, next, then, finally, previously, now, presently, next, still, meanwhile, subsequently, afterward |
*Conjunctions at the beginning of a sentence (comments by Fowler, Merriam-Webster and other grammarians.)
Also see Adverb Uses (an overview of adverbs and adverbials)
Grammar Notes
Terms in various grammar systems
(Advanced)
| TRADITIONAL GRAMMAR | LINGUISTIC DESCRIPTION |
|---|---|
| COORDINATORS | |
and, but, or |
and, or, but, nor |
for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so
|
and, or, but, nor for, only and so+that "borderline connectors" / prepositions (CaGEL 15 §2.11) |
| PAIRED SUBORDINATORS | |
both…and, not only…but also, either…or, neither…nor |
both…and, not only…but also, either…or, neither…nor |
| SUBORDINATORS | |
after, because, though, if
|
yet, so after, as, as soon as, before, once, since while because, as, since, inasmuch as though, even though, although even so, nevertheless, nonetheless, despite, regardless of, in spite of if, whether, unless after, before, since, when, while\ (See Grammar Notes on individual pages for details.) |
| TRANSITION WORDS |
|
moreover, however, otherwise
|
so, yet, however then, next, besides, anyway, suddenly, however, moreover, however, otherwise
|
Major changes: Many words that were analyzed as Adverb (category) have been reassigned to the category Preposition. "We count as prepositions words that take other kinds of complement than NPs, and we also include in the preposition category some words that occur without complement. i. According to Mary, we have no chance of winning. ii. The basket is outside. (CaGEL et al. 6.5.1) The traditional category of "subordinating conjunctions" reanalyzed as prepositions (PP) with a content clause as the complement (CaGEL 11.8.1)
CATEGORIES: NP –noun phrase; N – noun; VP – verb phrase; V – verb; Det – determiner; PP – prepositional phrase; P – preposition; AdvP – adverb phrase; Adv – adverb; AdjP– adjective phrase; Adj – adjective
FUNCTIONS: Subject: Subject, Predicate: Predicator (V) Complements: (elements required by verb) Object, Indirect Object, Predicative Complement Adjuncts: (optional modifiers) Adj, Adv
Resources
- Azar, Betty Schrampfer, and Stacy A. Hagen. Understanding and Using English Grammar (UUEG) . White Plains, New York: Pearson Longman, 2009. Print.
- Biber, Douglas, and Stig Johansson, et al. Longman Grammar Of Spoken And Written English (LGSWE). Harlow: Pearson Education, 1999. Print.
- Huddleston, Rodney and Geoffrey K. Pullum, et al. The Cambridge Grammar of the English Language (CaGEL) . Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2002. Print.
- Swan, Michael. Practical English Usage (PEU). 4th ed. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2009. Print.
- Quirk, Randolph and Sidney Greenbaum. A Comprehensive Grammar of the English Language (CoGEL) . 7th ed. New York: Longman Group, 1989. Print
Practice 1
A Day on the Bay
- Select the response from the list that best completes the sentence.
- Compare your response to the answer by clicking the "check" button.
Practice 2
Vaka Moana Canoes
"The Spirit of the Sea" (Advanced)
Read. Then add conjunctions and linking adverbs:
Six "vaka moana" canoes arrived in San Francisco this morning _____ sailing across the Pacific from New Zealand to the Hawaiian Islands and to mainland U.S. _____the 15,00 mile ocean journey, the canoes arrived safely.
They are participating in the voyage "Te Mana o Te Moana" which translates to "The Spirit of the Sea". This voyage was made _____ they wanted to raise awareness about the state of the ocean and to share the wisdom of the Polynesian ancestors who loved and respected the sea. "We are all in one canoe," they said.
The canoes, each about 70 feet long, carry a crew of 16 sailors from_____ Tonga _____ the Cook Islands, Kiribati and Vanuatu. More than 150 crew members are participating in the voyage, which began in April in Auckland, New Zealand.
_____ the canoes were built as the traditional vaka moana canoes used by the Pacific Islander ancestors, these have some modern changes. _____ the hulls (canoe bottoms) used to be made of wood, these are made of fiberglass. _____ , they have solar panels to power equipment on board.
_____ the ancient Polynesians navigated by the stars, these modern sailors have Internet, Facebook and Twitter as well. They even have a website where you can track their progress.
The six-canoe flotilla came in through the Golden Gate a week ago and were surprised _____ the stiff winds and fog in the bay. Fortunately, the fog lifted and the winds calmed down _____ the sailors could hold an open house and give rides to visitors.
"The Pacific is our home, our breath, our future. We can only survive _____ we come together as cultures, as crew-mates, to preserve the health of our ocean planet – Our Blue Canoe."
The flotilla will continue to Monterey, Los Angeles, and San Diego. In January of 2012, the journey will continue to the Galapagos Islands, Marquesas _____ Tahiti _____ .
— SFGate news story 8 Aug 2011 pacificvoyagers.org
Add a connector to the sentence.
- Edit the sentence in the text area.
- Then compare your response to the answer by clicking the "check" button.