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Co-ordinating vs. Sub-ordinating conjunctions

gmatter0913

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02 Aug 2013, 19:55

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Co-ordinating Conjunctions are: for, and, not, but, or, yet, so (fanboys - mnemonic to remember)

Sub-ordinating conjunctions are: although, as, because, after, before, how, if, once, since, than, that, though, till, when, where, whether, while

The doubt that I have is:

Is there a rule that sub-ordinating conjunctions should only join two clauses, while co-ordinating conjunctions can either join a clause and a phrase or can join two clauses?

Clause co-ordinating conjunction Clause/Phrase
Clause sub-ordinating conjunction Clause

Could the experts here help me on this, please?

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gmatter0913

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04 Aug 2013, 00:39

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Could somebody help me on this, please?

rockthegmat007

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05 Aug 2013, 06:21

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gmatter0913

gmatter0913 , not very clear what you mean here , but from what i understand of your question , here's what it is.

when co-ordinating conjunctions are used to connect clauses -- they HAVE to connect clauses. they cannot connect a clause and a Phrase.
when they're connecting phrases -- they have to connect phrases, they cannot connect a clause and a phrase

--
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Vinayprajapati

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05 Aug 2013, 11:24

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gmatter0913

Plz check this , it might help
learn-how-this-grammar-mistake-appears-in-the-most-insidious-138087.html

gmatter0913

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05 Aug 2013, 21:00

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So you're saying that the rule is as below:

Phrase co-ordinating conjunction Phrase
Clause co-ordinating conjunction Clause
Clause sub-ordinating conjunction Clause

Co-ordinating conjunctions can be used to join either two clauses or two phrases, but not a clause and a phrase.
On the other hand, sub-ordinating conjunctions can be used only to join two clauses.

Will that be correct?

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05 Aug 2013, 22:18

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gmatter0913

yes :

Co-ordinating conjunctions can connect :

1) individual words (acting as noun=pronoun , verb , adjective , adverb )
2) phrases (all phrases formed by the role of word types above + prepositional phrases )

3) clauses -- in this case, use COMMA + FANBOYS ( which you must already be aware )
the difference between (1),(2) and (3) is that (3)=clause connectivity needs a comma ALWAYS before the co-ordinating conjunction.
in case of (1) and (2) : the number of entities being joined determine the need for a COMMA before a co-ordinating conjunction
use X and Y ( for two elements )
use X , Y , and Z ( use comma + coordinating conjunction for three or more elements )

Correlative Conjunctions are a special set of co-ordinating conjunctions that

(a) always come in pairs
(b) can join ONLY two elements : not more than two.
(c) can join any element types : words , phrases and clauses

Sub-ordinating conjunctions

can connect clauses ONLY. (not words or phrases) -- to connect the main clause (main idea) with a subordinating clause (supporting idea)

some words can play the role of sub-ordinate conjunctions in some contexts and prepositional phrases in other contexts . I've seen "since" being used as a preposition and a conjunction in official questions . I'm sure there are more , but since is one word that popped out of my head right away.

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13 Aug 2013, 08:44

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The following is a Kaplan question:

In Turkey, coffee is traditionally drunk very strong, much as the French do.

A. much as the French do
B. much like the French do
C. much as it is by the French
D. much as it is in France <-- OA
E. much like it is in France

I request your help to understand the usage of "as" here in context of the above discussion that "as" has to join two clauses.

Also, please refer to the official question below:

Galileo was convinced that natural phenomena, as manifestations of the laws of physics, would appear the same to someone on the deck of a ship moving smoothly and uniformly through the water as a person standing on land.

A. water as a
B. water as to a <---- OA
C. water; just as it would to a
D. water, as it would to the
E. water; just as to the

Though I could say that B is correct, could you please help me understand the grammatical correctness of using "as" in the above example. How is "as" used to join two clauses in the above example?

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13 Aug 2013, 20:40

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gmatter0913

Though I could say that B is correct, could you please help me understand the grammatical correctness of using "as" in the above example. How is "as" used to join two clauses in the above example?

The rule about a FANBOYS conjunction joining two clauses only applies when the two clauses are connected by a comma; because there is no comma, clauses are not necessary.

Hope this helps!

gmatter0913

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13 Aug 2013, 21:59

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I think "as" is working as a preposition in the above examples. MGMAT says "as" can work as a sub-ordinating conjunction or as a preposition.

I guess sub-ordinating conjunctions need not be preceeded by a comma, as it is required for FANBOYS. Am I right?

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15 Aug 2013, 02:05

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gmatter0913

The following is a Kaplan question:

Galileo was convinced that natural phenomena, as manifestations of the laws of physics, would appear the same to someone on the deck of a ship moving smoothly and uniformly through the water as a person standing on land.

A. water as a
B. water as to a <---- OA
C. water; just as it would to a
D. water, as it would to the
E. water; just as to the

Though I could say that B is correct, could you please help me understand the grammatical correctness of using "as" in the above example. How is "as" used to join two clauses in the above example?

The natural phenomena would appear the same (a) to someone (describing someone as moving) as to (b) to someone else (describing someone as stationary)

there's comparison between (a) and (b)

If i've to write a completely grammatical sentence , it will appear as below :

Galileo was convinced that natural phenomena, as manifestations of the laws of physics, would appear the same to someone on the deck of a ship moving smoothly and uniformly through the ______ water as the phenomena would appear to a ______ person standing on land.

However, this sentence brings in ellipsis as well., retaining just the prepositional phrase after AS
AS + the phenomena would appear (=discarded with construction using ellipsis) + to a person standing on the land (=prepositional phrase)

AS + to a person standing on the land (=prepositional phrase)

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12 Mar 2014, 16:08

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KapTeacherEli

The rule about a FANBOYS conjunction joining two clauses only applies when the two clauses are connected by a comma; because there is no comma, clauses are not necessary.

Hope this helps!

Hi Eli,

Does it hold true for subordinate conjunction? i.e Comma should come before subordinate conjunction?

Thanks in advance

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