Linking words

A-Coordinating conjunctions (and, but, or, nor, so, yet for) (Coordination)

The use of a conjunction is to connect words or phrases that have the same grammatical function in a sentence. This use of conjunction is called parallel structure. The conjunctions used in this pattern are: and, but, or, nor, so, yet, for.

♫ and a►Sheila and her friend are coming to dinner.

b►Susan raised her hand and snapped her fingers.

c►He is waving his arms and shouting at us.

d►Steve, Joe, and Alice are coming to dinner.

e►The colours in that fabric are red, yellow, green, and blue.

♫but f►these shoes are old but comfortable.

♫or g►He wants to watch TV or (to) listen to some music.

♫yet h►The pop star was very old, yet she was very beautiful.

♫nor ı►_A: I do not like wearing blue jeans.

_B: Nor, do I.

♫so j►It was getting dark, so the team stopped searching for the lost girl.

k►The child was very hungry, so he ate a big sandwich.

♫for l►For it was getting dark, the team stopped searching for the lost girl.

m►The child ate a big sandwich, for he was very hungry.

n►For the child was hungry, he ate a big sandwich.

B-Using Paired Conjunctions (Correlative Conjunctions)

(both…and, not only…but also, either… or, neither …nor)

♫ a►Both my mother and my sister are here.

♫ b►Not only my mother but also my sister is here.

♫ c►Neither my mother nor my sister is here.

♫ d►Neither my mother nor my sisters are here.

NOTE: Two subjects connected by both…and take a plural verb.

When two subjects are connected by not only… but also, either… or, neither …nor, the subject that is closer to the verb determines whether the verb is singular or plural.

e►The research project will take both time and money.(both+noun +and+noun)

f►Yesterday it not only rained but (also) snowed.(not only+verb+ but also+verb)

g►I will take either chemistry or physics next quarter. (either+noun+ or+ noun)

h►The book is neither interesting nor accurate. (neither +adj. +or +adj.)

NOTE: The same grammatical form should follow each word of the pair.

C-Clauses of Time

♫…after a►After she graduates, she will get a job.

b►After she (had) graduated, she got a job.

♫…before……...c►I will leave before he comes.

d►I (had) left before he came.

♫…when……....e►When I arrived, he was talking on the phone.

f►When I got there, he had already left.

g►When it began to rain, I stood under a tree.

h►When I was in Ankara, I visited some of the museums there.

i►When I see him tomorrow, I will ask him.

♫…while……... j►While I was walking home, it began to rain.

……as…………k►As was walking home, it began to rain.

♫…by the time..l►By the time he arrived, we had already left.

m►By the time he comes, we will already have left.

Note:We generally use past perfect or future perfect tense in the main clause when ‘by the time’ is used.

♫…since……….n►I have not seen him since he left this morning.

……until……….o►We stayed there until we finished our work.

p►We stayed there till we finished our work.

Note: ‘Till’ is used especially in spoken language, so it is less formal than ‘until’.

♫…as soon as…q►As soon as it stops raining, we will leave.

……once………r►Once it stops raining, we will leave.

♫…as long as…s►I will never speak to him again as long as I live.

…...so long as…t►I will never speak to him again so long as I live.

♫…whenever…u►Whenever I see her, I say ‘Hello’.

…...every time..v►Every time I see her, I say ‘Hello’.

D-After and afterwards

a►After I ate dinner, I took a walk.

b►I ate dinner.Afterwards, I took a walk.

I ate dinner. I took a walk afterwards.

Note:‘Afterwards’ is an adverb which means “later, after that”.

E-Clauses of Place (wherever,anywhere, everywhere, somewhere, where)

a►Because I have good car now, I can go wherever I want.

b►I could not find a suitable place where there is no noise.(Relative adverb)

c►You will see such people wherever you go.

d►Have you found a wallet anywhere in the house?

F-Clauses of Reason

♫…because……a►Because he was sleepy, he immediately went to bed.

b►He immediately went to bed because he was sleepy.

♫…since………c►Since he was sleepy, he immediately went to bed.

d►He immediately went to bed since he was sleepy.

♫…now that…..e►Now that the semester is finished, I am going to rest a few days.

Note: ‘Now that’ means ‘because now’. It is used for present and future situations.

♫…as…………f►As she had nothing to do, she phoned a friend and called him to her house.

♫…as long as.…g►As long as (so long as ) you are not busy now, could you help me with this work?

♫.inasmuch as…h►Inasmuch as the two leaders could not reach an agreement, there is almost no possibility for peace.

♫…due to…………………...i►He failed his classes due to his laziness.

j►We stayed home due to the cold weather.

k►Due to the cold weather, we stayed home.

♫…because of ……………...l►We stayed home because of the cold weather.

m►Because of the cold weather, we stayed home.

♫…due to the fact that……...n►Due to the fact that the weather was cold, we stayed home.

…because of the fact that…o►Because ofthe fact that the weather was cold, we stayed home

NOTE:Because of / due to +noun or noun clause

Because of the fact that / due to the fact that + sentence

These are more formal than ‘due to and because’.

Clauses of Result and Purpose

♫so…that…………there was so many people in the theatre that I could not get a ticket.