Clause Connectors
Clause Connectors
Three groups of words are used to connect clauses in order to form sentences that are both grammatical and logical. These three groups are coordinating conjunction, sentence connectors, and subordinators.
Coordinating conjunctions and sentence connectors join independent clauses to form compound sentences.
Subordinators introduce dependent clauses, which are joined with independent clauses to the form complex sentence.
Coordinating Conjunction
A compund sentence is made of two or more independent clauses connected by a coordinating conjunction, such as and, or, nor, but, for, so, yet. Each clause in a compound sentence must have a subject and a verb, is of equal importance, and can stand alone. Punctuate the sentence by putting comma (,) before coordinating conjunction.
A compound sentence is formed with:
Independent Clause, + Coordinating Conjunction + Independent Clause
The following sample sentences indicate how coordinating conjunction work to make compound sentence. In each sentence, the coordinating conjunction is underlined.
1. George has applied for a scholarship, and Diane has requested financial aid. ( additional idea related to first idea ).
2. Students may live in the dormitories, or they may live in off-campus housing. ( choice of two possibilities )
3. Gerry has completed two math courses, but he must still take calculus. ( contrast with first clause )
4. Ronny completed his homework early, so he decided to go to the party.( result of first clause)
5. Foreign student must take English classes, for they must be able to communicate easily in speaking and writing. (reason for the first clause)
6. I have taken two finals, yet I must take two more this week. (contrast to the first clause)
7. Many students do not like to study for the tests, nor do they like to write term papers. ( negative choices in both clauses )
Note
In the last sentence, the word order after nor is that a typical English question. This is standard practice for this question.
