Conjunction (Part -1) - English Grammar Notes | Study English Grammar Basic - Teaching

A Conjunction is a word which joins together sentences and sometimes words.
As,
Meenu and Rishi are good friends.
             ↓
       Conjunction
She must weep or she will die.
                          ↓
                  Conjunction
God made man and man made inventions.
                           ↓
                  Conjunction
Our boat is small but the sea is great.
                              ↓
                   Conjunction
Conjunctions are of two kinds. They are :
(i) Co-ordinating
(ii) Sub-ordinating

As,
Shelly and Keats were great poets.
John and Henry are brothers.

In these sentences, the conjunction and joins two words.
Again,
John came here and sat down.
Smith is poor but honest.

Here, the conjunction and joins two Independent or co-ordinate clauses or sentences (John came here + John sat down), while the conjunction but joins two similar clauses or sentences (Smith is poor + Smith is honest). And and but are both co-ordinating conjunctions. All clauses joined by and, but, or and nor are co-ordinate clauses.

Therefore,

A conjunction that joins two words or two co-ordinate clauses or sentences is called a Co-ordinating Conjunction.

Let us take an example,
Smith is honest though poor.
(Smith is honest though he is poor).

Here he is poor is a subordinate clause dependent for its full meaning on the main clause Smith is honest to which it is joined by the conjunction though.

Though is a Subordinating conjunction. All clauses introduced by Subordinating conjunctions are Subordinate clauses.

Hence,

A conjunction that joins a Dependent or Subordinate clause to the main or co-ordinate clause of a complex sentence, is called a Subordinating Conjunction.

List of Subordinating Conjunctions

Use of Conjunctions

1. Not only .... but also is used before those words which it stresses.

As,
He is not famous in his state but also in his country. — wrong
He is famous not only in his state but also in his country. — correct

2. Neither is followed by nor while either is followed by or
As,
She is neither intelligent or labourious. — wrong
She is neither intelligent nor labourious.  — correct
But,
He is neither good at Physics nor at Chemistry. — wrong
He is good neither at Physics nor at Chemistry. — correct

3. Both is followed by and
As,
Both Mohan or Ram goes there. — wrong
Both Mohan and Ram go there. — correct
Again,
Both Sohan as well as Prem is good. — wrong
Both Sohan and Prem are good. — correct

4. Though and although are followed by yet 
As,
Though he is poor but he is honest.  — wrong
Though he is poor yet he is honest.  — correct
Although she is beautiful but she is gentle. — wrong
Although she is beautiful yet she is gentle. — correct

5. Even if is followed by but
As,
Even if he is hungry yet he cannot beg.  — wrong
Even if he is hungry but he cannot beg. — correct