Skip to Main Content

Transcript

This video is about some little words that are really important on the test that are going to be tested from a variety of angels so let's go ahead and jump into it. We're going to talk about conjunctions. So there are a couple types of conjunction categorizes you need to know. You don't necessarily need to know what they are called but you need to know roughly what they are so you know how they are used.

So first of all we have coordinating conjunctions. Coordinating conjunctions are the FANBOYS, and that is a mnemonic, or an acronym, to help you remember for, and, nor, or, but, yet, so. So FANBOYS are used in a couple ways, these coordinating conjunctions. They are the conjunctions that can be used to create compound sentences. So when you are linking two sentences, two independent clauses, for example, something like I like to go to the basketball game, and I buy lots of pizza there.

That would be a FANBOY being used for a compound sentence. But coordinating conjunctions are not only used to create compound sentences. You see them used all the time to connect any words or phrases together, such as I like pizza and ice cream. So I like pizza, well that could stand alone in a sentence, but ice cream could not, and so in this case we are not creating a compound sentence, we are just using that to link the two things that I like together.

Or I like cats yet have never liked dogs. So we're using another one of those FANBOYS here just to link two ideas together. But have never liked dogs can't stand alone as a sentence. Okay, the second category of conjunctions to know are subordinating conjunctions. Again, you don't necessarily need to know the name, but you should know what they do.

And what they do is provide a transition between ideas and subordinate a clause to a main clause. Okay, so they do two things. They provide the transition and they help you identify what the main clause is because the conjunction, the subordinating conjunction that introduces a clause subordinates it.

It makes it mean a little bit less and I'll show you what I mean with some examples in just a minute. But first of all, let's just take a look at some of them. There are many subordinating conjunctions. We can't make a FANBOYS for them, but here is just a list of a few common ones you see all the time, like after or because or if or though or unless, until.

Okay, you got the picture. You don't need to have the list memorized. But you should just know that they're conjunctions when you see them. So let's look at a couple examples. I will be free as a bird once I finish my last two exams of the school year. So here is our main clause and here is our subordinating conjunction.

And what that subordinating conjunction does is it provides a transition. I will be free as a bird. When are you gonna be free as a bird? Well, once I finish my last two exams of the school year. And it also subordinates this clause to this one, so our main clause is I will be free as a bird and then that subordinate clause gives us more information.

On how, or why or when I'm going to be free as a bird. Here is another example. I looked on top of the fridge where my mom normally hides the cookies, but didn't find any. Here is our subordinating conjunction, where. Here is our main clause, I looked on top of the fridge.

And this provides a transition and also makes this clause Well, grammatically speaking anyway, mean a little bit less. So the main action is I'm looking on top of the fridge. But then the subordinate clause gives us a little bit more information on why I would be looking on top of the fridge. All right.

Finally, I fell off the seesaw because I was laughing so hard. Main clause, fell off the seesaw. Transition, because I was laughing so hard. More information in the subordinate clause. Okay, hopefully you got that down now and we can just go into talking about the logic of conjunctions.

So, what do I mean by this? Well, often times a test is going to check to make sure that you, one, understand the message a sentence is trying to convey. And two, that you know what different conjunctions mean. So, for example. For months she worked diligently on her AP exam and/but she did not finish in time.

So you have to look at the clause that comes before this question, here. And the clause that comes after it in determining what should be the relationship here. For months she worked diligently on her AP literature essay and she did not finish in time. For months she worked diligently on her AP literature essay but she did not finish in time.

Which one should it be? Well, what the test makers in this situation will be looking for you to do is to know that you should infer that it should be but here. Because she worked so hard on her AP Lit essay, it's not like she didn't even try or procrastinate on it. She still didn't finish in time despite how hard she worked.

So that is the implied relationship here. So but helps convey that better than and. He realized he was lost, and or so, he asked for directions. This one's a little bit harder because you could think, well, he realized he was lost and he asked for directions. That doesn't sound terrible.

He realized he was lost so he asked for directions. But what happens if we use and? We're basically making them be equal things. On the one hand he realized he was lost and on the other hand, he asked for directions. Two separate things.

But if we say so, that creates that relationship. It creates that transition there. He realized he was lost, so what did he do? Because he's lost. Well he asked for directions. So that clarifies what the implied relationship between the two different clauses are.

All right, let's look at one more example. Because or although, weather forecasters predicted a rainy year, the first few months have been relatively dry. This is interesting, because it comes at the beginning of the sentence. So what you could do here to help yourself out because this is that subordinate clause, ends with a comma here, we could actually take this and put it after the main clause, and that might help clarify things a little bit.

The first few months have been relatively dry because weather forecasters predicted a rainy year. Well that doesn't make sense. They wouldn't be dry because weather forecasters predicted a rainy year. The first few months have been relatively dry although weather forecasters predicted a rainy year.

So that makes more sense. So that's a little trick that you can employ. If you're not sure because the fact that that conjunction comes at the beginning and kind of interrupts your train of thought or how the sentence is flowing. Move that to after the main clause and see if that helps you out. All right, let's look at a test example finally.

Because Willa Brown does not have the name recognition of Amelia Earhart, her contributions to the history of women in aviation should not be underestimated. So, we're looking at this underlined because here, is that correct or should we change it to a different transition. So we can use that strategy that I suggested to maybe help ourselves out here.

Now, remember, it might not sound wonderful, or as good as it sounds originally but to just help us figure out the transition. So her contributions, that would be Brown if it came first. Brown's contributions to the history of women in aviation should not be underestimated because Willa Brown does not have the name recognition of Amelia Earhart.

That sounds kind of funny let's try the next one. Brown's contributions to the history of women in aviation should not be under estimated since she doesn't have the name recognition of Amelia Earhart or C, let's try that one. Brown's contributions to the history of women in aviation should not be under estimated whereas she does not have the name recognition of Amelia Earhart.

Or finally, D, Brown's contributions to the history of women in aviation should not be underestimated, although she does not have the name recognition of Amelia Earhart. So our answer here is going to be Although. They shouldn't be underestimated even though she doesn't have that name recognition, she's not quite as famous in history as Amelia Earhart, her contribution should not be underestimated.

So logically, this subordinate conjunction helps clarify that idea the best. If we said, because, so that doesn't quite make sense. Because she doesn't have the name recognition, her contributions should not be underestimated. It's not what we're trying to convey there. It's not because we're trying to argue, or the author of the sentence is trying to argue that she should be recognized.

And since also doesn't quite make sense. Since she doesn't have name recognition, she should not be underestimated. Whereas also doesn't quite get that connection down. So our answer is Although. So make sure you are looking for two things when you're checking logic of conjunctions on the test.

You're making sure that it is grammatically the correct conjunction to use, but also that it helps connect the ideas the best.

Read full transcript