Lesson III: Conjunction, Determinant

In the previous blog post, Lesson II, Adjectives & Adverbs were discussed in a reader-friendly way with appropriate examples. Now two more pillars supporting English language are going to be discussed in a similar manner.

Conjunction: A conjunction is simply the part of speech that connects two words, sentences, phrases or clauses to form a sentence. Examples of all types of conjunction with explanation are given below:

Coordinating conjunctions - The acronym FANBOYS explains it better:

For presents a reason; He has been gambling with his health far too long, for he has been smoking daily.

And presents similar reasons; He gambles daily and he smokes.

Nor presents similar negative idea; I do not gamble, nor do I smoke.

But presents a contrast or an exception; They do gamble, but don't smoke.

Or presents an alternative term or idea; Hands up or I'll shoot you.

Yet also presents a contrast or an exception; They do booze, yet they don't smoke.

So presents a consequence; His results were marked absent by MDU, so he was angry & cursed them.

Correlative conjunctions - These work in pairs to join words and group of words of equal weight in a sentence. These are listed below with examples;

1. either...or: Akshant was either going to survive the coma or it was going to be just a comma in his life before the untimely full stop.
2. neither...nor: Aditya neither recognized his mistake nor did he stop to check on Akshant.
3. whether...or: Akshant's parents were confused whether to take him to New Delhi or Chandigarh for higher treatment.
4. not only...but (also): Not only was his cheek ridge fractured after the accident, but also he went into the horrific comatose stage.
5. just as...so: Just as Akshant was over-taking him Aditya turned, so colliding into Akshant.
6. both...and: Both Akshant and Anamika made love all night.

Subordinating conjunctions - Also called subordinators, these are conjunctions that conjoin an independent clause and a dependent clause in a sentence. There are 26 subordinators in all:

1. after: I followed her after she stomped away angrily.
2. although: She still loved me although I hurt her.
3. as: We danced well as we had practiced for days.
4. as far as: Throw your sorrows as far as you can.
5. as if: Live today as if there's no tomorrow.
6. as long as: Anamika told me that she is with me as long as time survives.
7. as soon as: Gurleen ditched me and got another boyfriend as soon as I met with that accident.
8. as though: Me & Anamika made love that night as though there's no tomorrow.
9. because: I love my parents because they are.
10. before: Stop me if you can before I finish this sentence.
11. if: The doctor called out my name to check if I respond.
12. in order that: Natural fortifications are provided to human body by skin, mucus lining and similar material in order that no pathogens can enter the circulatory system and cause diseases.
13. only if: We should press the alarm only if there's really an emergency.
14. since: Akshant was waiting for her since nine in the morning.
15. so: He was tired waiting three hours, the sun burned overhead so he went away in frustration.
16. so that: He called her so that he could complain.
17. than: I got more attention than anybody else in the surroundings.
18. though: I ignored his mistakes though much loss was suffered to the shop due to his inexperience.
19. unless: Don't bother me unless there is an emergency.
20. until: We were instructed to wait until it was sunset.
21. when: I don't know how they marked me 'absent' in three exams when I gave all ten exams.
22. whenever: I regard him my best friend and call him whenever I am in a bad mood.
23. where: Gurleen took Akshant outside in the lonely garden where she started to strip off erotically.
24. whereas: I yelled at her furiously, whereas she reacted calmly.
25. wherever: You can call 100 in India wherever you need the police to help you.
26. while: You can play the drillmaster while I play the bandmaster.

Determinant: These are better known as determiners. These are the words which determine the nature of another word or phrase or a sentence that generally follows it. A determinant or determiner is better explained in the examples below:

1. then: How do you suggest that I should set my relationship status then?
2. that: She told me that she was crying her head off when I ditched her.
3. when: When I've appeared in all the exams, how can they mark me absent!

The first example under the heading of 'then' actually is a sentence which stands viable for both 'then' & 'that'. Examples of sentences depicting multiple determinants can be framed in a similar manner.

Language translation tools or websites like Google Translate can help you learn the language better.

References:

The Web; Wiktionary & Wikipedia