Subordinating Conjunctions

The majority of conjunctions are "subordinating conjunctions". Common subordinating conjunctions are:

  • after, although, as, because, before, how, if, once, since, than, that, though, till, until, when, where, whether, while

A subordinating conjunction joins a subordinate (dependent) clause to a main (independent) clause:

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Look at this example:

main or
independent clause
subordinate or
dependent clause
Ram went swimmingalthoughit was raining.

subordinating
conjunction

A subordinate or dependent clause "depends" on a main or independent clause. It cannot exist alone. Imagine that somebody says to you: "Hello! Although it was raining." What do you understand? Nothing! But a main or independent clause can exist alone. You will understand very well if somebody says to you: "Hello! Ram went swimming."

A subordinating conjunction always comes at the beginning of a subordinate clause. It "introduces" a subordinate clause. However, a subordinate clause can sometimes come after and sometimes before a main clause. Thus, two structures are possible:

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Ram went swimming although it was raining.
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Although it was raining, Ram went swimming.





1 comments:

Mark Pennington March 11, 2010 at 7:51 PM  

Here's a nice complementary article titled How to Teach Conjunctions on how to teach the three forms of conjunctions--each with memory tricks, examples, and practical strategies for teaching in the context of authentic writing.

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