"Conjunction"
A conjunction is a word used to link or 'conjoin' words or phrases into a coherent whole. There are two classes of conjunctions: coordinate and subordinate.
coordinating conjunctions
A coordinating conjunction 'coordinates' two equivalent elements in a sentence, that is, words belonging to the same grammatical category (nouns + nouns, verbs + verbs, independent clause + independent clause, etc.). The most commonly used coordinating conjunctions in French are:
| mais | but |
| ou | or |
| et | and |
| donc | so, thus |
| or | so, now |
| ni ... ni | neither ... nor |
| car | for |
| puis | then |
| Edouard n'aime ni le barbecue ni les hamburgers. | Edouard likes neither barbecue nor hamburgers. |
| Tex fume des cigarettes et boit du vin rouge. | Tex smokes cigarettes and drinks red wine. |
subordinating conjunctions
A subordinating conjunction links an independent clause to a dependent clause. In other words, a subordinating conjunction joins two unequivalent clauses (independent and dependent). An independent clause is any clause that can stand alone to form a grammatical sentence. A dependent clause, on the other hand, cannot stand alone and thus 'depends' on the main clause in order to form a complete thought.
The most commonly used subordinate conjunctions:
| que | that |
| pendant que | as, while |
| quand lorsque | when when |
| depuis que | since (indicating time) |
| tandis que | while, whereas |
| puisque | since |
| parce que | because |
| Il est évident que Tex fume trop. (dependent) . ... .(independent) | It is obvious that Tex smokes too much. |
