Coordinating and Subordinating Conjunctions

Coordinating and Subordinating Conjunctions

What's the difference, and what do they do?

Conjunctions:

• A conjunction is a word that is used to join words, phrases, or sentences.

Coordinating Conjunctions:

• Coordinating conjunctions such as and, but, and or are used to combine two or more subjects, predicates, or sentences to make compound subjects, predicates, or sentences.

Compound Subjects, Predicates, and Sentences:

1. Compound Subject: Chariot races and foot races were part of the games.

2. Compound Predicate: Athletes might perform in many sports or focus on one sport.

3. Compound Sentence: I wanted to see the long jump, but I was too late. (Two complete sentences joined by a comma and a conjunction!)

Subordinating Conjunctions

• Examples: because, if, then, when, although, before, after, since...

• Used to link dependent clauses and independent clauses in complex sentences.

• They are called SUBordinating conjunctions because they cause an independent clause to become a dependent clause just by adding the conjunction.

Complex Sentences (subordinating conj.)

• Before the games began, all wars stopped.

• Before the games began is a dependent clause because of the word "Before"

• All wars stopped is an independent clause (aka complete sentence). Together they make a complex sentence.

• NOTICE THE COMMA IN THE MIDDLE OF THE TWO CLAUSES!! IF THE DEPENDENT CLAUSE COMES FIRST, A COMMA SHOULD BE USED!

Complex Sentences Continued...

• She is a good runner because she practices.

• She is a good runner is an independent clause. "because she practices" is a dependent clause.

• Because the independent clause comes first, NO COMMA IS NEEDED!

• DEPENDENT, INDEPENDENT

• INDEPENDENT(no comma) DEPENDENT

Multiple Select

Which conjunction? Compound subject, Compound Predicate, or Compound Sentence?

The Greeks made carvings on the walls (or, but) covered them with paintings instead.

• or

• but

• compound predicate

• compound subject

• compound sentence

Multiple Select

Which conjunction? Compound subject, Compound Predicate, or Compound Sentence?

The Iliad (but, and) The Odyssey are epic Greek poems.

• but

• and

• compound subject

• compound predicate

• compound sentence

Multiple Select

Which conjunction? Compound subject, Compound Predicate, or Compound Sentence?

Phonecian art (and, but) shipbuilding would be great subjects for our reports.

• and

• but

• compound subject

• compound predicate

• compound sentence

Multiple Select

Which conjunction? Compound subject, Compound Predicate, or Compound Sentence?

Free male citizens of Athens could vote on laws, (or, but) woman and slaves could not.

• or

• but

• compound subject

• compound predicate

• compound sentence

Multiple Select

Which conjunction? Compound subject, Compound Predicate, or Compound Sentence?

The Minoan king Minos was supposedly the son of Zeus (and, or) therefore possessed special powers.

• and

• or

• compound subject

• compound predicate

• compound sentence

Multiple Select

Which conjunction? Compound subject, Compound Predicate, or Compound Sentence?

Was Athens the capital of ancient Greece, (and, or) was it Troy?

• and

• or

• compound subject

• compound predicate

• compound sentence