Conjunctions vs Connectors

The main difference between conjunctions and connectors is that conjunctions join words or groups of words within a sentence, while connectors join two separate sentences:

Conjunctions

Join words, phrases, or clauses within a sentence. For example, "I am cold and hungry".

The three types of conjunctions are coordinating, subordinating, and correlative:

·        Coordinating conjunctions

Join two or more independent clauses, phrases, or words. Examples include "and", "but", "or", "for", "nor", "yet", and "so". For example, "I want to study in a peaceful place so I went to the library".

·        Subordinating conjunctions

Join an independent clause and a dependent clause. Examples include "if", "although", "though", "after", "before", "because", "as if", "unless", "until", "when", and "while". For example, "Every father works hard to fulfill their children's needs because he wants them to be happy".

·        Correlative conjunctions

Join two phrases or parts of a sentence that are equally important. Examples include "not only…but also", "either…or", "neither…nor", "whether…or", "rather…or", and "if…then". For example, "She neither wants to go to a movie nor a party".

Connectors

Join two separate sentences, phrases, or sections. For example, "I am cold and hungry. So, I'm going to go inside and have lunch". 

Connectors usually appear at the beginning of a sentence. They introduce a clause or sentence and act as a transition between it and the previous sentence.

‘Connectors’ are used to link large groups of words: phrases and sentences. You can also use them to connect paragraphs to give them coherence. Sentence connectors are usually placed at the beginning of a sentence and may be categorized as follows:

CONTRAST

1. HOWEVER

·        This restaurant has the best kitchen in town. However, their staff are quite rude.

2. IN CONTRAST

·        House prices have gone up this year. In contrast, car prices seem to be stagnating.

3. NEVERTHELESS

·        I was in so much pain I didn’t want to get up in the morning. Nevertheless, I went to football practice as usual.

4. NONETHELESS

·        I don’t think Sean has serious behavioural problems. Nonetheless, I’ll talk to him first thing in the morning.

5. YET

·        I’ve asked you a thousand times not to leave your dirty socks on the floor. Yet, you keep doing it.

6. ON THE OTHER HAND

·        England has the best language schools. On the other hand, it has the worst weather.

7. BY COMPARISON

·        Going out with Jim has its risks. By comparison, being with Tim is as easy as falling off a log.

8. ON THE CONTRARY

·        I don’t hate Jim. On the contrary, I’m rather fond of him.

9. INSTEAD

·        I didn’t want to take a side in the argument. Instead, I put my headphones on and listened to some smooth jazz.

10. IN ANY CASE

·        I was thinking of going round Jim’s place. In any case, I haven’t been invited.

11. ALL THE SAME

·        Yes, he’s very good-looking. All the same, I don’t think you should go out with him.

SIMILARITY

1. LIKEWISE

·        You can’t give your phone number to every man who asks for it. Likewise, you can’t go out with everyone who fancies you.

2. SIMILARLY

·        You’re not allowed to use your phone here. Similarly, you have to switch it off when you’re in the library.

3. CORRESPONDINGLY

·        She’s an excellent photographer. Correspondingly, her paintings are works of art.

4. IN THE SAME WAY

·        Cutting down on sugar will help you lose weight. In the same way, doing more exercise will help you get rid of a few kilos.

5. ALSO

·        I want to talk to Prince Harry when I’m in England. Also, I want to meet his sister-in-law.

RESULT

1. AS A RESULT

·        I’ve done a pranic healing course. As a result, I’ve been able to cure my neighbour’s sick cat.

2. AS A CONSEQUENCE

·        Zack has skipped school on many occasions. As a consequence, he’s failed his French test.

3. THEREFORE

·        We’re going to experience some meteor showers in the next few days. Therefore, the number of miraculous self-healings will rise.

4. THUS

·        You didn’t tell me you wanted to come. Thus, we won’t be taking you with us.

5. ACCORDINGLY

·        Plenty of tourists visit the area in summer. Accordingly, selling hand-made objects is the main source of income for locals.

SEQUENCING

1. FIRST, FIRSTLY, FIRST OF ALL, IN THE FIRST PLACE

·        First of all, I’d like to talk about the benefits of having a pet pig.

2. TO BEGIN WITH

·        To begin with, pet pigs are cleaner than dogs.

3. FOR ONE THING

·        For one thing, they’re completely loyal to their owners.

4. SECOND, SECONDLY, IN THE SECOND PLACE

·        Secondly, their impressive numeracy skills must be mentioned.

5. FOR ANOTHER THING

·        For another thing, you might want to consider how cute they look in pyjamas.

6. THIRD, THIRDLY, IN THE THIRD PLACE

·        In the third place, you can always count on your pet pig to perform some tricks for you when you’d like to impress a pretty girl.

7. ALSO

·        Also, they don’t eat much.

8. BESIDES

·        Besides not eating much, they won’t ever chew on your electric cords.

9. IN ADDITION

·        In addition, they can be taught to feed themselves if you allow them access to your pantry.

10. FURTHERMORE

·        Furthermore, they make wonderful walking buddies.

11. MOREOVER

·        Moreover, they’ll show you the way home when you’re drunk.

12. FINALLY

·        Finally, pet pigs are fantastic guards. No burglar would ever have the heart to hurt a pet pig.

13. LAST, LASTLY, LAST OF ALL

·        Lastly, your reputation as an eccentric will rapidly grow in the neighbourhood if you’re seen walking a pet pig on a leash every morning.

ORDER OF IMPORTANCE

1. MOST IMPORTANTLY

·        I’d like to talk to you about how to keep calm at your workplace. Most importantly, never go to the canteen while your boss is there.

2. PRIMARILY

·        You’ll have to focus on your immediate surroundings. Primarily, on your computer screen.

3. ABOVE ALL

·        Above all, don’t ever look up from your notes when people are around.

4. MOST SIGNIFICANTLY

·        Most significantly, avoid eye-contact at all costs.

5. ESSENTIALLY, BASICALLY (usually spoken)

·        How can I put this? Essentially, having an affair with one of your colleagues should be the last thing on your mind.

PARTICULARIZATION

1. IN PARTICULAR, PARTICULARLY

·        Nearly a third of marriages end in divorce. In particular, it’s middle-aged couples that yearn for much more from life.

2. MORE SPECIFICALLY

·        Couples tend to argue about financial issues. More specifically, they argue when one of them is out of work.

EXAMPLIFICATION

1. FOR EXAMPLE

·        To solve this problem, you might want to try making small gestures. For example, making your spouse’s favourite meal for dinner or giving him a massage after a tiring day.

2. FOR INSTANCE

·        Appreciate the small things your spouse does for you. For instance, leave thank-you notes for them every now and then.

3. TO ILLUSTRATE

·        Misunderstandings can be highly destructive. To illustrate, if your spouse sees you with a friend of the opposite sex in a café, he might not understand why he hasn’t been invited and demand an explanation.

EXPLANATION

1. THAT IS TO SAY, THAT IS

·        Keep romance alive. That is to say, don’t let your lovelife fall into routine.

2. NAMELY

·        I have a very good reason for not trusting my ex. Namely, he’s a convicted felon.

3. IN OTHER WORDS

·        Don’t be unsociable. In other words, go out and make some friends.

4. PUT DIFFERENTLY

·        John has managed to get over Jane. Put differently, he’s started seeing other women.

EMPHASISING

1. AS A MATTER OF FACT

·        I love sleeping with my pet pig. As a matter of fact, I can’t fall asleep unless he’s in my bed.

2. IN FACT

·        I told them not to invite Rachel to the party. In fact, I was the only person who saw what a party pooper she really was.

3. ACTUALLY

·        I think it would be a good idea to send her some flowers. Actually, you should get her a hundred orchids.

4. INDEED

·        He may be the best-dressed man around. Indeed, he has a really good taste in fashion.

FOCUSING AND LINKING

1. AS FOR (often suggests disinterest or dislike)

·        I’m going to Janet’s party at the weekend. As for Mary’s, I think I’ll pass.

2. WITH RESPECT TO

·        Starting your own IT company may be the one of the best things you can do right now. With respect to opening a pet shop, it’s hard to say the same thing.

3. REGARDING

·        Start your day with making the most important phone calls. Regarding emails, you might put them off until later.

4. WITH REGARD TO

·        With regard to handling complaints, you might want to keep in mind that your customers are always right.

5. AS REGARDS

·        Working from home has many advantages. As regards disadvantages, it might be difficult to keep your cat off your keyboard.

6. TALKING OF

·        Talking of cats, you can’t trust them to keep you company when you need it. They’re quite selfish creatures.

7. AS FAR AS … CONCERNED

·        As far as dogs are concerned, they might give you a chance to get up from your desk and get some exercise during the day

CONCLUSION

1. IN CONCLUSION

·        In conclusion, it may be said that pigs make the best pets.

2. IN BRIEF

·        Meeting my boss at the pub was an interesting experience. In brief, it was a disaster.

3. IN SUMMARY

·        In summary, it may not be the best idea to frequent the same pubs as your boss.

4. TO SUM UP

·        To sum up, some people are better suited to working from home than others.

5. ALL IN ALL

·        All in all, you have to make sure both you and your customers

CORRECTION

1. RATHER

·        I thought it was a good idea to get a ferret. Rather, it had always been my dream to get one.

2. TO BE MORE PRECISE

·        You might want to change a few things. To be more precise, I think you should start again from scratch.

TIME

1. AT FIRST

·        It wasn’t a piece of cake to learn English. At first, I couldn’t pronounce all the words correctly.

2. THEN

·        Then, I couldn’t spell all the words correctly.

3. AFTERWARDS

·        Afterwards, I had a hard time understanding the tenses.

4. LATER

·        Later, I couldn’t memorize phrasal verbs and idioms.

5. IN THE MEANTIME

·        In the meantime, I was getting some help from MyEnglishTeacher.

6. MEANWHILE

·        Meanwhile, I was enjoying my skype lessons more and more.

DISMISSAL (of what was said before)

1. ANYWAY

·        I couldn’t get my head around the Passive Voice. Anyway, I don’t think it’s important to use it all the time.

2. ANYHOW

·        Anyhow, I’ve just decided to learn Russian next.

3. AT ANY RATE

·        At any rate, I don’t want to become a simultaneous interpreter in five languages.