96716-39776 | 95410-79129

Rules of Conjunctions by Ajay Sir

Common errors in the use of some conjunctions

Incorrect: The car either dashed against a goat or a donkey.
Correct: The car dashed against either a goat or a donkey. (either + noun + or + noun)

Incorrect: Neither he would eat nor allow us to eat.
Correct: He would neither eat nor allow us to eat. (neither + verb + nor + verb)

The correlatives either…or, neither…nor, both…and and not only…but also must be placed immediately before the words which they relate to.

Incorrect: Though he was poor but he was happy.
Correct: Though he was poor he was happy.
Correct: He was poor but he was happy.

One conjunction is enough to join two clauses.

Incorrect: He asked that what was my name.
Correct: He asked what my name was.

Incorrect: He enquired that where was the office.
Correct: He enquired where the office was.

Students often make the mistake of using the relative pronoun that before interrogatives like what, where, when, whether and why.

Incorrect: Do it carefully lest you may not make a mistake.
Correct: Do it carefully lest you make a mistake.

Lest means that…not, and, therefore, it will be wrong to add another not in the following clause. It should also be noted that the only auxiliary verb that can be used after lest is should.

Incorrect: He climbed up a tree such as to get a good view of the procession.
Correct: He climbed up a tree so as to get a good view of the procession.

Such as indicates result. So as indicates purpose.

Uses of Conjunction:- 
1. ‘And’ is used to join two words or clauses of the same nature.
Example:- He worked hard and passed the exam.
He set the alarm and went to bed.

2. ‘But’ is used to join two words or clauses of the different nature or the second clause gives unexpected information.
Example:- He worked hard but failed in the exam.

3. ‘As’ and ‘That’ are used after ‘such’
Example:- She is not such a fool as she looks.
We hope it is not such a slow process as it is taking time.

4. ‘And’ is used after ‘both’.
Note : – ‘as well as / or’ is not used used after ‘both’
Example:- Mohan is both intelligent and smart.
Both he and she are hardworking.

5. After ‘Though’, ‘yet’/ (,) is used.
Example:-Though she is poor yet she is honest.
Though she worked hard, she failed.

6. ‘When’ is used after ‘Scarcely’, ‘Barely’, ‘Hardly’
Example:- He was hardly halfway across the city when his Mother called him.

7. Use ‘nor’ with ‘neither’
Use ‘Or’ with ‘Either’
Use ‘but also’ with ‘Not only’
Example:-Neither he nor his friends have the black pen.
Not only Rekha but also Sheena have the same car.
Either you or he is intelligent.

8. ‘Than’ is used after ‘No sooner’
Example:- No sooner did I arrive at the bus stop than the bus came.

9. ‘than’ is used after ‘other’
Example:- She parked her car in front of the other gate than her own.

10. After ‘that’, Imperative/Interrogative and Optative sentences are not used.
Example:- He said that eat it all at once. Incorrect
We said that Where is your house? Incorrect
My father said that May god bless you! Incorrect

Interrogative Sentences– Those sentences are those sentences which asks a question and ends with a question mark.
Example:-Where do you live?
Optative Sentences – those sentences which express wish or desire.
Example:-May you live long!
But with indirect form in Exclamatory and Optative sentences, ‘that’ is used.
Example:- He wished that you might live long.

11. Nowadays ‘So…as’ and ‘As…as’ are used in Negative sentences and in affirmative sentences.
Example:- Shikha is not as good as Sakshi.
She is not so/as bad as she looks in photographs

Earlier only So….as in Negative and As…..as in affirmative sentences

12.After ‘Whether’, ‘no’ or ‘not’ can be used; ‘that’ is never used in place of ‘whether’
Example:-He doesnot know whether I am here or not. – Correct
He doesnot know that I am here or not. – Incorrect

13. ‘Unless’, ‘Until’, ‘if not’ are not used with Negative sentences as they already are negative.
‘Until’ and ’till’ tell us about the time.
‘Unless’ tell us about the condition.
Example:- Wait here unless he comes. – Incorrect
Wait here until he comes. Correct

14. ‘When’ is used -When one work is finished and other one starts.
Example:- When she reached her destination she stared missing her family.
‘While’ is used when both work is done simultaneously.
Example:- I saw a leopard when I was on the road.

15. Till and until are used to represent something that happened in past.
I continued to be good in sports, until I was eight years old.
Use of ‘As long as’
Example:- You will pass as long as you will study hard.

16.If any sentence starts with ‘As’, ‘because’, ‘Since’ then ‘so’, ‘therefore’, ‘thus’ cannot be used after them.
Example:-As I liked it so I purchased it.
As I liked it I purchased it.
Similarly, After ‘because’ and ‘before’, we don’t used ‘that’.
Example:- He was late because that he missed his bus. – Incorrect
He was late because he missed his bus. – Correct

17. With ‘As if’ and ‘as though’, Past conditional is used, instead of Present and Future.
Example:-He seems as if he is mad. – Incorrect
He seems as if he were mad.- Correct