{"id":51810,"date":"2024-12-17T13:54:11","date_gmt":"2024-12-17T12:54:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/oxfordhousebcn.com\/?p=51810"},"modified":"2024-12-17T13:54:11","modified_gmt":"2024-12-17T12:54:11","slug":"conjunctions-and-linking-words-how-to-form-complex-sentences","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/oxfordhousebcn.com\/en\/conjunctions-and-linking-words-how-to-form-complex-sentences\/","title":{"rendered":"Conjunctions and Linking Words: How to Form Complex Sentences"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"text-align: justify; font-size: 15px;\">Are you looking for ways to make your writing and speech flow more naturally? Perhaps you feel like it\u2019s difficult for people to <em><span style=\"color: #008000;\"><strong>follow your train of thought<\/strong><\/span><\/em> when you speak. Or you keep getting low marks for coherence and cohesion in your writing tests.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify; font-size: 15px;\">Learning how to use more conjunctions and linking words can be a quick way to improve your fluency. The only problem is that there are a lot of them and they all serve different purposes. So, where to begin?<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify; font-size: 15px;\">Our article aims to give you a <em><span style=\"color: #008000;\"><strong>crash course<\/strong><\/span><\/em> in conjunctions and linking words. Read on to learn the different types, understand how they work, and explore a few examples.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: center; font-size: 20px;\"><span style=\"color: #2d346f;\"><strong>What are conjunctions and linking words?<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify; font-size: 15px;\">Conjunctions are the pieces of language that connect words, phrases, and clauses.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify; font-size: 15px;\">For example:<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<br \/>\n<div class=\"list_styles\"><ul class=''>\n<span style=\"font-size: 15px;\"><li><i class='icon-circle'><\/i>Would you prefer tea <strong>or<\/strong> coffee?<\/li>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 15px;\"><li><i class='icon-circle'><\/i>Please call me <strong>or<\/strong> send me an email.<\/li>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 15px;\"><li><i class='icon-circle'><\/i>I wanted to go for a run <strong>but<\/strong> it started raining.<\/li>\n<\/span>\n<\/ul><\/div><div class=\"clear\"><\/div>\n&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify; font-size: 15px;\">You can use more than one to form complex sentences.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify; font-size: 15px;\">For example:<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<br \/>\n<div class=\"list_styles\"><ul class=''>\n<span style=\"font-size: 15px;\"><li><i class='icon-circle'><\/i>Everyone thinks Molly <strong>and<\/strong> Mandy are sisters <strong>but<\/strong> they just look similar.<\/li>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 15px;\"><li><i class='icon-circle'><\/i>I don\u2019t like dancing <strong>so<\/strong> I usually just sit down <strong>and<\/strong> watch everyone else.<\/li>\n<\/span>\n<\/ul><\/div><div class=\"clear\"><\/div>\n&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify; font-size: 15px;\">Linking words are the parts of language that connect ideas between different sentences and paragraphs. They often go at the start of a sentence, but can also go at the end.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify; font-size: 15px;\">For example:<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<br \/>\n<div class=\"list_styles\"><ul class=''>\n<span style=\"font-size: 15px;\"><li><i class='icon-circle'><\/i>All my friends are out having fun. <strong>Meanwhile<\/strong>, I\u2019m stuck at home with the flu.<\/li>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 15px;\"><li><i class='icon-circle'><\/i>I\u2019ve put my pie on the windowsill to cool down. Don\u2019t even think about sneaking a piece <strong>though<\/strong>!<\/li>\n<\/span>\n<\/ul><\/div><div class=\"clear\"><\/div>\n&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify; font-size: 15px;\">Some people get confused about the difference between conjunctions and linking words. They may think they\u2019re the same thing as people use the terms interchangeably. While there are similarities between the two types of language, they serve separate purposes.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: center; font-size: 20px;\"><span style=\"color: #2d346f;\"><strong>Coordinating conjunctions<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify; font-size: 15px;\">A coordinating conjunction connects two equal elements of a sentence. <em><span style=\"color: #008000;\"><strong>In other words<\/strong><\/span><\/em>, they link two pieces of the same kind of grammar.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify; font-size: 15px;\">For example:<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<br \/>\n<div class=\"list_styles\"><ul class=''>\n<span style=\"font-size: 15px;\"><li><i class='icon-circle'><\/i>I like strawberries <strong>and<\/strong> milk.<\/li>\n<\/span>\n<\/ul><\/div><div class=\"clear\"><\/div>\n&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify; font-size: 15px;\">\u2018Strawberries\u2019 and \u2018milk\u2019 can go together because they\u2019re both nouns.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify; font-size: 15px;\">It would sound odd if you said \u201cI like strawberries <strong>and<\/strong> I like to drink milk\u2019 because they\u2019re different types of grammar. The first half is a noun and the second half is a clause in the <a href=\"https:\/\/oxfordhousebcn.com\/en\/grammar-guide-understanding-present-simple-and-present-perfect\/\">present tense<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify; font-size: 15px;\">Here are the seven most common coordinating conjunctions with some example sentences:<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<br \/>\n<div class=\"list_styles\"><ul class=''>\n<span style=\"font-size: 15px;\"><li><i class='icon-circle'><\/i><strong>for:<\/strong> I brought a thermos of coffee with me <strong>for<\/strong> I had a long drive ahead.<\/li>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 15px;\"><li><i class='icon-circle'><\/i><strong>and:<\/strong> Who doesn\u2019t like to go to the beach <strong>and<\/strong> go swimming on a hot day?<\/li>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 15px;\"><li><i class='icon-circle'><\/i><strong>nor:<\/strong> You didn\u2019t study for the test <strong>nor<\/strong> did you complete your homework.<\/li>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 15px;\"><li><i class='icon-circle'><\/i><strong>but:<\/strong> Alice is very talented <strong>but<\/strong> she lacks confidence.<\/li>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 15px;\"><li><i class='icon-circle'><\/i><strong>or:<\/strong> Shall we watch a film <strong>or<\/strong> go bowling for our first date?<\/li>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 15px;\"><li><i class='icon-circle'><\/i><strong>yet:<\/strong> Tom is the youngest, <strong>yet<\/strong> he\u2019s probably the most mature of his siblings.<\/li>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 15px;\"><li><i class='icon-circle'><\/i><strong>so:<\/strong> The restaurant was closed <strong>so<\/strong> we ordered a pizza instead.<\/li>\n<\/span>\n<\/ul><\/div><div class=\"clear\"><\/div>\n&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: center; font-size: 20px;\"><span style=\"color: #2d346f;\"><strong>Correlative conjunctions<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>&#038;nbsp<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify; font-size: 15px;\">You may have noticed that we sometimes pair conjunctions with other words. These are called correlative conjunctions.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify; font-size: 15px;\">Here are the main ones:<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<br \/>\n<div class=\"list_styles\"><ul class=''>\n<span style=\"font-size: 15px;\"><li><i class='icon-circle'><\/i><strong>Both<\/strong> Clare <strong>and<\/strong> Lottie are graduating this year.<\/li>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 15px;\"><li><i class='icon-circle'><\/i><strong>Either<\/strong> get your feet off the sofa <strong>or<\/strong> take your shoes off.<\/li>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 15px;\"><li><i class='icon-circle'><\/i><strong>Neither<\/strong> Brad <strong>nor<\/strong> Kevin came to the office today.<\/li>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 15px;\"><li><i class='icon-circle'><\/i>It\u2019s <strong>not only<\/strong> the best pizza in town <strong>but also<\/strong> the cheapest.<\/li>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 15px;\"><li><i class='icon-circle'><\/i>Everyone can come to the party <strong>whether<\/strong> they\u2019re friends <strong>or<\/strong> family.<\/li>\n<\/span>\n<\/ul><\/div><div class=\"clear\"><\/div>\n&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify; font-size: 15px;\">Having two conjunctions helps make the sentence clearer. It\u2019s easier to tell that there\u2019s a choice between two things.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: center; font-size: 20px;\"><span style=\"color: #2d346f;\"><strong>Subordinating conjunctions<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify; font-size: 15px;\">A subordinating conjunction joins a dependent to an independent clause.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify; font-size: 15px;\">If you\u2019re unfamiliar with these terms, an independent clause is a phrase that expresses an entire thought or idea. It can stand alone as a sentence even if it\u2019s really short.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify; font-size: 15px;\">For example:<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<br \/>\n<div class=\"list_styles\"><ul class=''>\n<span style=\"font-size: 15px;\"><li><i class='icon-circle'><\/i>Smoking kills.<\/li>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 15px;\"><li><i class='icon-circle'><\/i>I love New York.<\/li>\n<\/span>\n<\/ul><\/div><div class=\"clear\"><\/div>\n&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify; font-size: 15px;\">Whereas a dependent clause is incomplete. It can\u2019t act as a sentence and requires extra information.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<br \/>\n<div class=\"list_styles\"><ul class=''>\n<span style=\"font-size: 15px;\"><li><i class='icon-circle'><\/i>When the sun is shining and the birds are singing.<\/li>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 15px;\"><li><i class='icon-circle'><\/i>Because he\u2019s the love of my life.<\/li>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 15px;\"><li><i class='icon-circle'><\/i>Even though you\u2019ve been really mean to me.<\/li>\n<\/span>\n<\/ul><\/div><div class=\"clear\"><\/div>\n&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify; font-size: 15px;\">Subordinating conjunctions allow us to connect the dependent and the independent clauses. They might go at the beginning or in the middle of a sentence.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<br \/>\n<div class=\"list_styles\"><ul class=''>\n<span style=\"font-size: 15px;\"><li><i class='icon-circle'><\/i><strong>While<\/strong> you watch the kids, I\u2019ll start cooking dinner.<\/li>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 15px;\"><li><i class='icon-circle'><\/i>I stayed home <strong>because<\/strong> I didn\u2019t feel very well.<\/li>\n<\/span>\n<\/ul><\/div><div class=\"clear\"><\/div>\n&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify; font-size: 15px;\">Subordinating clauses also often indicate the relationship between the two clauses. Here are the main categories and some common examples:<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/oxfordhousebcn.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/Subordinating-clauses.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/oxfordhousebcn.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/Subordinating-clauses.jpg\" alt=\"Subordinating clauses | Conjunctions and Linking Words: How to Form Complex Sentences | Oxford House Barcelona\" width=\"723\" height=\"585\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-51811\" srcset=\"https:\/\/oxfordhousebcn.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/Subordinating-clauses.jpg 723w, https:\/\/oxfordhousebcn.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/Subordinating-clauses-300x243.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 723px) 100vw, 723px\" \/><\/a><br \/>\n&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: center; font-size: 20px;\"><span style=\"color: #2d346f;\"><strong>Linking words<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify; font-size: 15px;\">Linking words behave a lot like subordinating conjunctions. They suggest the relationship between two different ideas and often go at the start or end of a sentence. However, they usually link two sentences or paragraphs.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify; font-size: 15px;\">Here are the main categories:<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/oxfordhousebcn.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/Linking-words.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/oxfordhousebcn.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/Linking-words.jpg\" alt=\"Linking words | Conjunctions and Linking Words: How to Form Complex Sentences | Oxford House Barcelona\" width=\"661\" height=\"810\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-51814\" srcset=\"https:\/\/oxfordhousebcn.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/Linking-words.jpg 661w, https:\/\/oxfordhousebcn.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/Linking-words-245x300.jpg 245w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 661px) 100vw, 661px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify; font-size: 15px;\">Tip! Be careful about the tone of linking words. \u2018Furthermore\u2019 is formal so it might sound strange in casual conversation or a message between friends. You would just use \u2018also\u2019.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: center; font-size: 20px;\"><span style=\"color: #2d346f;\"><strong>Closing thoughts<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify; font-size: 15px;\">The trick to linking words and conjunctions is starting with <em><span style=\"color: #008000;\"><strong>the basics<\/strong><\/span><\/em> and building on what you know. Once you feel more confident, you can start experimenting and creating longer sentences.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify; font-size: 15px;\">Another important factor is variety. If you look at the sentences in this section so far, you\u2019ll see there\u2019s a mix of simple and complex structures using different conjunctions. That\u2019s what gives your language rhythm and makes it flow.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify; font-size: 15px;\">Want to learn more about improving your fluency? <a href=\"https:\/\/oxfordhousebcn.com\/en\/english-courses\/\">Book a lesson with Oxford House<\/a>.<\/p>\n<div class=\"devider element_size_>\"><div style=\"margin-top:20px;margin-bottom:20px; \" class=\"divider3\"><\/div><\/div><div class=\"clear\"><\/div>\n<h2><strong>Glossary for Language Learners<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify; font-size: 15px;\">Find the following words in the article and then write down any new ones you didn\u2019t know.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify; font-size: 15px;\"><span style=\"color: #008000;\"><em><strong>To follow a train of thought (phr):<\/strong><\/em><\/span>  to understand the flow of someone\u2019s ideas as they speak.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify; font-size: 15px;\"><span style=\"color: #008000;\"><em><strong>Crash course (phr):<\/strong><\/em><\/span> a short and intensive lesson.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify; font-size: 15px;\"><span style=\"color: #008000;\"><em><strong>In other words (phr):<\/strong><\/em><\/span> an expression used when we restate an idea in simpler language.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify; font-size: 15px;\"><span style=\"color: #008000;\"><em><strong>The basics (phr):<\/strong><\/em><\/span> the simple and essential parts of an idea.<\/p>\n<div class=\"devider element_size_>\"><div style=\"margin-top:20px;margin-bottom:20px; \" class=\"divider1\"><\/div><\/div><div class=\"clear\"><\/div>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify; font-size: 15px;\"><strong>Key<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify; font-size: 15px;\">phr = phrase<\/p>\n<p><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Are you looking for ways to make your writing and speech flow more naturally? Perhaps you feel like it\u2019s difficult for people to follow your train of thought when you speak. Or you keep getting low marks for coherence and cohesion in your writing tests. Learning how to use more conjunctions and linking words can [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":25,"featured_media":51817,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_joinchat":[]},"categories":[268],"tags":[],"yst_prominent_words":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/oxfordhousebcn.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51810"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/oxfordhousebcn.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/oxfordhousebcn.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/oxfordhousebcn.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/25"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/oxfordhousebcn.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=51810"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/oxfordhousebcn.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51810\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":51820,"href":"https:\/\/oxfordhousebcn.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51810\/revisions\/51820"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/oxfordhousebcn.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/51817"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/oxfordhousebcn.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=51810"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/oxfordhousebcn.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=51810"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/oxfordhousebcn.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=51810"},{"taxonomy":"yst_prominent_words","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/oxfordhousebcn.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/yst_prominent_words?post=51810"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}