Conjunctions

 
  Conjunctions  
  Words that are used to join words, phrases, or sentences together.  
     

 

13.1  List of Conjunctions
 

Conjunctions

Uses & Examples

and

To join words and phrases of the same kind.


  1. Laili loves scuba diving.
  2. Laili loves to go hiking. 

These are the two things that Laili loves.

Combine:

Laili loves scuba diving and hiking.

 

To join two sentences.


Puan Rohana took the chicken out of the freezer. She cleaned the chicken.

Combine:

Puan Rohana took the chicken out of the freezer and cleaned the chicken. 

or

To connect two or more choices. The listener would have to choose one of the options.


(a) Would you like to have vanilla or chocolate ice cream?

(b) You can take a bus or a train to get to the famous café.

but

To join ideas that are opposite or different.


(a) Alia is lazy but she always scores in the examination. 

(b) My dad likes jogging, but my mum likes hiking. 

so

To show the result of an action.


(a) It started to rain, so we cancelled the trip to the beach.

(b) She didn’t know how to read the map, so she got lost.

because

To show a reason.


(a) We study hard because we want to get excellent results.

(b) We can't go to Julia's party because we're going away that weekend. 

 

  This is how conjunctions are used in the passage.  
     
      Tan Hock is an octogenarian. He lives alone. Most evenings, he sits alone in front of the house watching the neighbour's children play or he watches television. Sometimes, he ponders deeply about his own childhood. There was always time for friends and fun things like fishing and flying homemade kites when he was a child. He wonders why his sons and daughters always say they do not have time to visit him. They call him on the telephone every week, but they seldom visit him. They do not take him out for dinner or movies. He would like to go out to dinner or chat with his grandchildren, but he is not on their agenda! His grandchildren do not seem to be enjoying their childhood. They are either at school, attending tuition classes, doing extra-curricular activities, or at some night class. He wishes his family would visit him more often.