Chef_Troy (![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small} chef_troy) wrote,@ 2009-02-04 14:50:00 |
|
More free grammar lessons from The Editor's Eye
Remember "Conjunction Junction" on Schoolhouse Rock! Saturday mornings back in the 70s? If you're too young, your lives are impoverished.
A conjunction is a word whose function is to connect two words or groups of words (always matching in type -- subject-conjunction-subject, clause-conjunction-clause, etc.). There are several types; the one we are discussing today is the coordinating conjunction, a category that includes the words for, and, nor, but, or, yet, and so. You may notice that this list of words acronymizes to "FANBOYS"; this is an excellent way to remember them.
Just to clarify the following, a clause is a group of words that contains both a subject and a verb (it may or may not be a complete sentence). The proper way to punctuate two independent (i.e., able to stand on their own as sentences) clauses joined by a coordinating conjunction is by putting a comma before the conjunction and nothing after it, like so:
"I saw yet another grammar mistake on a billboard, but my head didn't explode."
Do NOT do it this way:
"I saw yet another grammar mistake on a billboard; but, my head didn't explode."
On the other hand, it's:
"I saw yet another grammar mistake on a billboard; however, my head didn't explode."
NOT
"I saw yet another grammar mistake on a billboard, however my head didn't explode."
Why the apparent exception? Because however is NOT a coordinating conjunction -- it's an adverb, which is a different animal. The clauses in this example are joined together by the semicolon, which takes the place of a coordinating conjunction in this case. The word however is part of the second clause, and serves to modify, or supply additional information about, the verb "to explode."
If all this makes you feel like boulders are rolling around in your head, I recommend This site on diagramming sentences, which is a skill that will help you understand how all the words in a sentence work with each other.
(If anybody wants me to talk about correlative conjunctions or subordinating conjunctions, I will.)
Remember "Conjunction Junction" on Schoolhouse Rock! Saturday mornings back in the 70s? If you're too young, your lives are impoverished.
A conjunction is a word whose function is to connect two words or groups of words (always matching in type -- subject-conjunction-subject, clause-conjunction-clause, etc.). There are several types; the one we are discussing today is the coordinating conjunction, a category that includes the words for, and, nor, but, or, yet, and so. You may notice that this list of words acronymizes to "FANBOYS"; this is an excellent way to remember them.
Just to clarify the following, a clause is a group of words that contains both a subject and a verb (it may or may not be a complete sentence). The proper way to punctuate two independent (i.e., able to stand on their own as sentences) clauses joined by a coordinating conjunction is by putting a comma before the conjunction and nothing after it, like so:
"I saw yet another grammar mistake on a billboard, but my head didn't explode."
Do NOT do it this way:
"I saw yet another grammar mistake on a billboard; but, my head didn't explode."
On the other hand, it's:
"I saw yet another grammar mistake on a billboard; however, my head didn't explode."
NOT
"I saw yet another grammar mistake on a billboard, however my head didn't explode."
Why the apparent exception? Because however is NOT a coordinating conjunction -- it's an adverb, which is a different animal. The clauses in this example are joined together by the semicolon, which takes the place of a coordinating conjunction in this case. The word however is part of the second clause, and serves to modify, or supply additional information about, the verb "to explode."
If all this makes you feel like boulders are rolling around in your head, I recommend This site on diagramming sentences, which is a skill that will help you understand how all the words in a sentence work with each other.
(If anybody wants me to talk about correlative conjunctions or subordinating conjunctions, I will.)
