Using conjunctions to join ideas

Part ofEnglishGrammarYear 2

What are conjunctions?

Person thinking with the words 'for', 'when', 'because', 'if', 'and' and 'but' around them.

Conjunctions are words that join ideas and sentences together.

Think of them as a type of grammar glue! They stick your ideas together to make your sentences longer and stronger.

Words like 'and', 'but', 'or', 'so', and 'because' are all examples of conjunctions.

'Because' is a really useful conjunction. You can use it to explain how or why something is the case. For example:

Please keep the noise down because I need to sleep!

Person thinking with the words 'for', 'when', 'because', 'if', 'and' and 'but' around them.
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Using conjunctions to join ideas

Learn how conjunctions make your writing flow with this letter from Queen Peace of Quiet. Then, test your knowledge with the quiz!

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How to use conjunctions

Conjunctions are words that join ideas together, like 'and', 'but', 'because', 'or', 'when', and 'so'.

You use them to make your thoughts clearer and your writing flow.

Queen sat at a desk writing a letter, with a thinking bubble of a roaring dragon.

Without conjunctions, writing can sound choppy and like a list.

Conjunctions can help us give reasons, show choices and link events in our sentences.

I hope we can be friends so we can share afternoon tea.

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Example 1

How could we join these two events with a conjunction?

Everyone woke up ______ the dragon roared.

a) so

b) but

c) when

Dragon roaring at night outside a castle.
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Example 2

Which sentence uses a conjunction correctly?

a) Queen Peace loved living next door to a dragon but she would like to get some sleep!

b) Queen Peace loved living but next door to a dragon she would like to get some sleep!

c) Queen Peace loved living next door to a but dragon she would like to get some sleep!

Queen looking shocked whilst sat at her desk with roaring vibrations coming towards her.
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A shopping trolley full of groceries.

Task

Conjunction shopping game!

Challenge yourself to play the A-Z shopping list game, but with added explanations using your conjunctions.

For example:

I went to the shop I bought…

…an apple because I was hungry

…a banana but it was green

…a car and it was great!

See how creative you can be.

A shopping trolley full of groceries.
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