A subordinating conjunction is a word which joins together a dependent clause and an independent clause. This page will explain the most common subordinating conjunctions and how to use them.
What is a dependent clause?
A clause is a unit which contains a subject and a verb. For example, "It was raining" is a clause; the subject is "it", and the verb is "was raining". A dependent clause is a clause which cannot exist on its own; it needs a main (or independent) clause to go with it. For example:
Because it was raining, I took my umbrella.
This sentence contains two clauses, "Because it was raining" and "I took my umbrella". The first clause does not mean anything on its own. If you say "Because it was raining", and nothing else, people will not be able to understand what you mean. However, "I took my umbrella" is an independent clause -- we can understand what it means even if it is alone.
Joining clauses together with subordinating conjunctions
Examine the example sentence one more time:
Because it was raining, I took my umbrella.
The important word here is "because". This is a subordinating conjunction. It is used to show the relationship between the two clauses. A subordinating conjunction usually comes at the beginning of the dependent clause, but the dependent clause itself can be before the main clause (usually followed by a comma) or after it (sometimes following a comma):
Although it was hot, he was wearing a coat.
He was wearing a coat although it was hot.
Important subordinating conjunctions
Some of the most important subordinating conjunctions fall into two groups: contrast, and cause and effect.
Conjunction / Function / Example
although
(even) though
whereas
while / express contrast between ideas / Although she's small, she's very strong.
John is short, whereas Mary is tall.
because
as
since / show a cause/effect relationship between ideas / I lost my job because I was often late.
Since I have no money, I can't go to the movie.
If you would like more information on this topic, try one of the pages below. When you are sure you understand clearly, you can click on "First exercise" to continue.
Examples of subordinating conjunctions
- that
- if
- although
- because
- while
- since
- after
- before
- when
- where
- how
- whether
- in that
You already know all or most of these words, right?
So, I think we can safely say that you already know the most important stuff about subordinating conjunctions, but just in case, here's the most important rule:
subordinating conjunction + sentence
If you can remember this question, you'll be able to answer 85% of the TOEFL questions you'll see on the grammar section no sweat.
Yeah, we know that the name is kind of hard to remember. A lot of other books or teachers use different words because they think that their students won't remember the term subordinating conjunction, but, to tell you the truth, the term is actually very descriptive and helpful.
First, you need to understand that a subordinating conjunction is a conjunction. In other words, we use it to joing two things that are the same. In the case of subordinating conjunctions, we are joining two sentences.
Trust me, many TOEFL grammar questions are related to whether or not we have a conjunction between two sentences.
Let's look at some examples, maybe that will help us understand better.
Look at this sentence:
I was late to class.
Now look at this sentence:
The bus was late.
Now, grammatically, we have two sentences. If we have two sentences, we need something between them to 'connect' them; this is a basic English rule.
In this case, we can use the subordinating conjunction because. We would end up with this sentence:
I was late to class because the bus was late.
Basic Subordinating Conjunctions
Top of Form
1 / ______it was raining, I didn't get wet./ Although
/ Because
2 / Jun couldn't buy any Christmas presents, ______he didn't have any money.
/ even though
/ Because
3 / ______my wife likes to travel abroad, I prefer to stay at home for my vacations.
/ Whereas
/ Since
4 / Jerry passed the exam first time, ______I had to retake it three times.
/ As
/ While
5 / I will be late today, ______my car has broken down.
/ Because
/ Though
6 / ______Mei Li doesn't speak English, she can't go to university in Canada.
/ Whereas
/ Since
7 / Paula got the job, ______she had no experience.
/ As
/ even though
8 / I don't drink coffee, ______it makes me nervous.
/ As
/ Although
Bottom of Form
1. I took my umbrella. It was raining. (as)2. Some apples are red. Others are green. (while)
3. The ship could not move. There was no wind. (since)
4. Surfing is fun. It can be dangerous. (though)
5. You should stay away from bears. They are dangerous. (because)
6. Deer are cute. They eat all your flowers. (although)