{"id":12232,"date":"2016-11-14T06:00:19","date_gmt":"2016-11-14T11:00:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/grockit.com\/collegeprep\/?p=1300"},"modified":"2020-09-11T20:42:33","modified_gmt":"2020-09-11T20:42:33","slug":"conjunctions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wpapp.kaptest.com\/study\/act\/conjunctions\/","title":{"rendered":"Conjunctions on the ACT"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Yes, I\u2019m sure all of you know what a conjunction is. We\u2019ve all heard the famous song on \u201cSchool House Rock.\u201d (If you haven\u2019t, please youtube it; you\u2019re missing out on some pretty essential pop culture.)\u00a0 My goal is not to tell you the difference between \u201cand,\u201d \u201cbut,\u201d and \u201cor.\u201d My goal is to explain how conjunctions are used to link phrases and clauses.<br \/>\nThe ACT will likely test you on two kinds of conjunctions: coordinating conjunctions and subordinating conjunctions. Each type has its own set of rules that you must follow.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p><strong>Coordinating Conjunctions&#8211; <em>For, And, Nor, But, Or, Yet, So<\/em><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Coordinating conjunctions are those conjunctions that connect words, phrases, and, most importantly, independent clauses. To remember the coordinating conjunctions, use the mnemonic device FANBOYS: For, And, Nor, But, Or, Yet, So. We already know that coordinating conjunctions can be used to link words (I need to buy milk <em>and <\/em>cookies) and phrases (John needs to run home <em>and <\/em>do his homework).<br \/>\nThe most important function of the coordinating conjunction, however, is its ability to <strong>connect two independent clauses with a comma<\/strong>. An independent clause is a complete idea (containing a subject and verb) that can stand alone as a complete sentence. Let\u2019s see some examples of the coordinating conjunction in action:<br \/>\n&nbsp;<br \/>\n<div  class='avia-icon-list-container   avia-builder-el-0  el_before_av_notification  avia-builder-el-first '><ul class='avia-icon-list avia-icon-list-left av-iconlist-big avia_animate_when_almost_visible avia-iconlist-animate'>\n<li><div  class='iconlist_icon  avia-font-entypo-fontello'><span class='iconlist-char ' aria-hidden='true' data-av_icon='\ue832' data-av_iconfont='entypo-fontello'><\/span><\/div><article class=\"article-icon-entry av-iconlist-empty\"  itemscope=\"itemscope\" itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/BlogPosting\" itemprop=\"blogPost\" ><div class='iconlist_content_wrap'><header class=\"entry-content-header\"><h4 class='av_iconlist_title iconlist_title   '  itemprop=\"headline\"  >I want to watch the game, <strong>but<\/strong> I have to work that day.<\/h4><\/header><div class='iconlist_content  '  itemprop=\"text\"  ><\/div><\/div><footer class=\"entry-footer\"><\/footer><\/article><div class='iconlist-timeline'><\/div><\/li>\n<li><div  class='iconlist_icon  avia-font-entypo-fontello'><span class='iconlist-char ' aria-hidden='true' data-av_icon='\ue832' data-av_iconfont='entypo-fontello'><\/span><\/div><article class=\"article-icon-entry av-iconlist-empty\"  itemscope=\"itemscope\" itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/BlogPosting\" itemprop=\"blogPost\" ><div class='iconlist_content_wrap'><header class=\"entry-content-header\"><h4 class='av_iconlist_title iconlist_title   '  itemprop=\"headline\"  >I can watch the game, <strong>or<\/strong> I can go to work.<\/h4><\/header><div class='iconlist_content  '  itemprop=\"text\"  ><\/div><\/div><footer class=\"entry-footer\"><\/footer><\/article><div class='iconlist-timeline'><\/div><\/li>\n<li><div  class='iconlist_icon  avia-font-entypo-fontello'><span class='iconlist-char ' aria-hidden='true' data-av_icon='\ue832' data-av_iconfont='entypo-fontello'><\/span><\/div><article class=\"article-icon-entry av-iconlist-empty\"  itemscope=\"itemscope\" itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/BlogPosting\" itemprop=\"blogPost\" ><div class='iconlist_content_wrap'><header class=\"entry-content-header\"><h4 class='av_iconlist_title iconlist_title   '  itemprop=\"headline\"  >I decided to skip work, <strong>so<\/strong> I\u2019ll be able to watch the game.<\/h4><\/header><div class='iconlist_content  '  itemprop=\"text\"  ><\/div><\/div><footer class=\"entry-footer\"><\/footer><\/article><div class='iconlist-timeline'><\/div><\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div><br \/>\n<em>Wrong<\/em>: I decided to skip work, <strong>therefore<\/strong> I\u2019ll be able to watch the game.\u00a0 \u201dTherefore\u201d is not a coordinating conjunction!<br \/>\nNotice that the comma and the conjunction separate independent clauses. \u201cI want to watch the game\u201d and \u201cI have to work that day\u201d can stand as complete sentences, so they are independent clauses. The important rule to know is that, if one side of the conjunction is not an independent clause, I don\u2019t need a comma:<br \/>\n<div id='avia-messagebox-' class='avia_message_box  avia-color-green avia-size-normal avia-icon_select-no avia-border-solid  avia-builder-el-1  el_after_av_iconlist  el_before_av_iconlist '><div class='avia_message_box_content' ><p>I can either watch the game or go to work. \u00a0 <strong>No comma!<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><br \/>\nNotice that I changed this sentence so that \u201cI can go to work,\u201d an independent clause, is now \u201cgo to work,\u201d a simple phrase. As a result, I removed the comma since the conjunction no longer divides two independent clauses.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p><strong>Subordinating Conjunctions&#8211;<\/strong><em> <strong>Because, Before, After, When, Since, Until, Although, While<\/strong><\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Like coordinating conjunctions, subordinating conjunctions help to connect two independent clauses, but they can only do so by making one of the clauses <strong>dependent<\/strong> (i.e. subordinate). When I place a subordinating conjunction in front of an independent clause, I render that clause dependent, thereby facilitating its linkage with an independent clause.<br \/>\nComma use with subordinating conjunctions depends on the placement of the clauses:<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>When the independent clause comes first, you don\u2019t need a comma.<\/li>\n<li>When the dependent clause comes first, you need a comma to separate the clauses.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>Here are some examples of this difference:<br \/>\n<div  class='avia-icon-list-container   avia-builder-el-2  el_after_av_notification  el_before_av_notification '><ul class='avia-icon-list avia-icon-list-left av-iconlist-big avia_animate_when_almost_visible avia-iconlist-animate'>\n<li><div  class='iconlist_icon  avia-font-entypo-fontello'><span class='iconlist-char ' aria-hidden='true' data-av_icon='\ue832' data-av_iconfont='entypo-fontello'><\/span><\/div><article class=\"article-icon-entry av-iconlist-empty\"  itemscope=\"itemscope\" itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/BlogPosting\" itemprop=\"blogPost\" ><div class='iconlist_content_wrap'><header class=\"entry-content-header\"><h4 class='av_iconlist_title iconlist_title   '  itemprop=\"headline\"  ><strong>Because<\/strong> I forgot to study, I received a failing grade on the exam.<\/h4><\/header><div class='iconlist_content  '  itemprop=\"text\"  ><\/div><\/div><footer class=\"entry-footer\"><\/footer><\/article><div class='iconlist-timeline'><\/div><\/li>\n<li><div  class='iconlist_icon  avia-font-entypo-fontello'><span class='iconlist-char ' aria-hidden='true' data-av_icon='\ue832' data-av_iconfont='entypo-fontello'><\/span><\/div><article class=\"article-icon-entry av-iconlist-empty\"  itemscope=\"itemscope\" itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/BlogPosting\" itemprop=\"blogPost\" ><div class='iconlist_content_wrap'><header class=\"entry-content-header\"><h4 class='av_iconlist_title iconlist_title   '  itemprop=\"headline\"  >I received a failing grade on the exam <strong>because<\/strong> I forgot to study.<\/h4><\/header><div class='iconlist_content  '  itemprop=\"text\"  ><\/div><\/div><footer class=\"entry-footer\"><\/footer><\/article><div class='iconlist-timeline'><\/div><\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div><br \/>\nNotice that each sentence has two clauses, one of them independent and the other dependent. The clause \u201cbecause I forgot to study\u201d is dependent; it cannot stand alone as a sentence. If we were to remove \u201cbecause,\u201d though, \u201cI forgot to study\u201d would function as an independent clause. The subordinating conjunction renders the clause dependent.<br \/>\nA common error is placing a comma before the subordinating conjunction in the second form:<br \/>\n<div id='avia-messagebox-' class='avia_message_box  avia-color-green avia-size-normal avia-icon_select-no avia-border-solid  avia-builder-el-3  el_after_av_iconlist  avia-builder-el-last '><div class='avia_message_box_content' ><p>I received a failing grade on the exam, because I forgot to study. \u00a0<strong>Wrong!<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><br \/>\nIn this example, you simply do not need a comma when you place the dependent clause after the independent clause. As you can see, conjunctions are accompanied by specific comma rules. As you all know, the ACT loves to test for comma usage, so beware of comma placement when you see conjunctions like these.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Yes, I\u2019m sure all of you know what a conjunction is. We\u2019ve all heard the famous song on \u201cSchool House Rock.\u201d (If you haven\u2019t, please youtube it; you\u2019re missing out on some pretty essential pop culture.)\u00a0 My goal is not to tell you the difference between \u201cand,\u201d \u201cbut,\u201d and \u201cor.\u201d My goal is to explain [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":27165,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[58],"tags":[59],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wpapp.kaptest.com\/study\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12232"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wpapp.kaptest.com\/study\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wpapp.kaptest.com\/study\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wpapp.kaptest.com\/study\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wpapp.kaptest.com\/study\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12232"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/wpapp.kaptest.com\/study\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12232\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":36157,"href":"https:\/\/wpapp.kaptest.com\/study\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12232\/revisions\/36157"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wpapp.kaptest.com\/study\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/27165"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wpapp.kaptest.com\/study\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12232"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wpapp.kaptest.com\/study\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12232"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wpapp.kaptest.com\/study\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12232"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}