What is a conjunction?
Conjunctions are words which help link ideas in a sentence.
They can join together words, parts of sentences and even whole sentences. They help to make writing flow.
Jackie ate an ice cream. She licked her lips.
You can join these two sentences using a conjunction.
Jackie ate an ice cream and licked her lips.
What are conjunctions?
Discover how to use conjunctions by joining Maya on her epic space journey!
How to use conjunctions
Conjunctions link clauses together. A clause is a group of words with a verb.
A main clause can stand alone as a sentence.
The ground shook.
Other clauses, such as subordinate clauses, cannot be a complete sentence on their own.
when the rocket launched
The subordinate clause 'when the rocket launched' includes the subordinating conjunction 'when'.
It needs to be linked to a main clause to make a complete sentence.
The ground shook when the rocket launched.
What are the types of conjunctions?
There are two types of conjunctions, coordinating conjunctions and subordinating conjunctions.
Coordinating conjunctions
Coordinating conjunctions link main clauses together.
I want to go to space but I need a rocket.
There are only seven co-ordinating conjunctions.
for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so
Subordinating conjunctions
Subordinating conjunctions link subordinate clauses to main clauses.
Maya started to feel nervous as the engine roared to life.
The subordinating conjunction 'as' has been used to link the main clause 'Maya started to feel nervous' to the subordinate clause 'as the engine roared to life'.
There are many subordinating conjunctions, but some common ones include:
when, as, if, because, although, while, before, after
Subordinating conjunctions can also appear at the start of a sentence.
As the engine roared to life, Maya started to feel nervous.
Example 1
Which part of the sentence is the subordinating conjunction in?
When Maya’s mum has a free day, they use her underwater craft to explore the deepest reaches of the ocean together.
✓ The subordinating conjunction is in the first part of the sentence.
When Maya’s mum has a free day, they use her underwater craft to explore the deepest reaches of the ocean together.
The first part of the sentence contains the subordinating conjunction ‘when’. It is part of the subordinate clause 'when Maya's mum has a free day'.
You know it’s subordinating because that part of the sentence doesn’t make sense on its own.
Example 2
Sometimes sentences can have more than one conjunction in them.
Can you spot all the conjunctions that have been included in the sentence below?
While she is at work, Maya’s mum sometimes collects supplies from her secret laboratory to bring home because she likes to help Maya with her inventions.
✓ Here are the conjunctions.
While she is at work, Maya’s mum sometimes collects supplies from her secret laboratory to bring home because she likes to help Maya with her inventions.
Both 'while' and 'because' are subordinating conjunctions.
Task
Power up your space story
Your turn to write your own adventure space story.
It could be about discovering a forgotten planet or meeting a new species.
When you’ve finished, count how many conjunctions you’ve used.
If you don’t find many, try adding at least one subordinating conjunction and one coordinating conjunction.
Play our fun English game Crystal Explorers! game
Use grammar, punctuation and spelling skills to explore jungles, caves and tombs on your mission.
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