Expressing Logical Relationships

Conjunctions

A "conjunction" is used to show the relationship between two ideas in a sentence. Sometimes the ideas are expressed as single words or phrases--as simple as a noun or an adjective. (Note that conjunctions used in this way require the use of "parallelism," where the same part of speech must occur on both sides of the conjunction.)

This course is hard but not impossible.

(hard and impossible are adjectives)

I'm taking English and biology this semester.

(English and biology are nouns.)

Often, conjunctions connect more complex ideas, expressed in the form of clauses. (A clause can be loosely defined as a group of words having its own subject and verb.)

When showing the relationship between clauses, conjunctions are usually divided into two sub-classes. These are "coordinating conjunctions" and "subordinating conjunctions."

Coordinating Conjunctions

Coordinating conjunctions are defined as conjunctions which show the relationship between two ideas, or clauses, of equal importance.

We plan to go to the theater this evening, but we may be late.

You could finish out the year, or you could take a leave of absence.

I plan to retake the accounting course and hopefully do better than last time.

Subordinating Conjunctions

Subordinating conjunctions are defined as conjunctions which show the relationship of a less important idea to a more important idea.

When you go to the lab, you'll need to take your calculator.

You'll need your calculator because we will be working on some formulas.

If you don't have your calculator, you won't be able to participate in the class.

Sometimes, the function of a subordinating conjunction can be expressed by a phrase, rather than a single word. Such phrases often end with the word that:

By the time (that) you read this letter, I will be on a plane to Las Vegas.

I will consider giving you a raise provided that you promise to work harder.

The start-up company hired a lobbyist so that they could get local tax relief.

Conjunctive Adverbs

A conjunctive adverb has a similar function to a conjunction in that it is also used to show the relationship between two clauses. However, usually the punctuation is different, and grammarians don't typically divide conjunctive adverbs into coordinating and subordinating sub-classes.

His behavior in class is not the best; moreover, his work so far is very poor.

Getting a degree in engineering is pretty tough; however, I think you could do it.

Conjunctive adverbs may also be used to show the relationship between ideas across sentence boundaries.

There are lots of reasons why Buffalo is losing population. For example, many of the old manufacturing industries have fallen on hard times.

In an Ironman race, you start with a two-mile swim. Next, you cycle 112 miles. Then you run a marathon.

Prepositions

While conjunctions and conjunctive adverbs typically show the relationship between two clauses, prepositions typically show connections between ideas within clauses.

The internet company finally made a profit after two years of losses

The sailing class took the boats out despite the lack of wind.

Some prepositions are multi-word prepositions (for example, in spite of):

Marcia had to take a leave of absence because of illness.

In contrast to most people on my dormitory floor, I like to go to bed early.

In all of the examples above, the preposition is followed by a noun phrase, which is called the "object" of the preposition. In the last two examples above, the objects of the prepositions are illness and most people on my dormitory floor.

While the object of a preposition is generally a noun phrase, prepositions can also be followed by a "gerund" instead of a noun phrase. A gerund is a verb + ing form that behaves in many ways like a noun phrase. In the following two examples, the objects of the (multi-word) prepositions are the gerunds studying and running.

In spite of studying all night, I still did badly on the midterm.

A triathlon involves swimming and cycling in addition to running.

It is important to recognize that sometimes the structure conjunction + clause can be abbreviated to preposition + gerund. Compare the following sentence pairs:

It's not easy to communicate in sign language while you're driving.

It's not easy to communicate in sign language while driving.

He had a heart attack because he worked too hard.

He had a heart attack because of working too hard.

In the first pair of sentences, while in the first sentence is a conjunction that introduces the clause while you're driving; while in the second sentence is a preposition following by the gerund driving. In the second pair of sentences, because in the first sentence is a conjunction that introduces the clause because he worked so hard; because of in the second sentence is a preposition following by the gerund working.

Additive

Perhaps the most straightforward relationship is that of addition, where the speaker, having mentioned one thing, wants to go on to talk about something else which is similar. As with the other relationships discussed below, the additive relationship may occur within sentences or across sentences. The relationship may be expressed between two ideas or more than two, in which case it frequently takes the form of a list.

The following conjunctions are used to express the additive relationship:

and
as well as
both . . . and
plus
neither . . . nor
not only . . . but also

As noted above, conjunctions can often be used to link two (or more) parallel parts of speech. In the examples below, the conjunction as well as in the first sentence links two noun phrases. In the second sentence not only… but also links two adjectives. In the third sentence neither … nor links two adverbs. And in the fourth sentence, and links the second and third adjectives of the list tall, rich, handsome.

He's a student of English as well as a deeply religious man.
My neighbor's dog is not only large but also unfriendly.
She drove neither slowly nor carefully.
He's tall, rich, and handsome.

The second use of conjunctions, again as noted above, is to link ideas expressed in clauses, as in the following examples:

I gave a presentation at the conference, plus I met some very interesting people.
The janitor both washed all the windows and mopped all the floors.

Sometimes, the two ideas may not seem to be quite so similar.

Taxes are due on the 15th of April, and I haven't done mine yet.

Conjunctive Adverbs and the Additive Relationship

English offers a large number of conjunctive adverbs which allow for the addition of similar information, as in the list below.

also
additionally
as well
besides
equally
first, second, third
furthermore
moreover
plus
similarly

The use such conjunctive adverbs is illustrated in the following two sentences:

Monica is travelling to Bavaria during spring break; also, she intends to visit Austria.

This quarter, my students have been very eager to learn; moreover, they seem to have been smarter than some in past quarters.

It is important to note that, although the conjunctive adverbs in the above list are often grouped together as being related in meaning, they are not all fully interchangeable. Consider the following sentence:

Two hundred graduates received baccalaureate degrees. Additionally, 25 doctoral degrees were conferred.

One would not say, however:

Two hundred graduates received baccalaureate degrees. Equally, 25 doctoral degrees were conferred.

This non-exchangeability of conjunctive adverbs, which are otherwise similar in meaning, causes problems for deaf students, and it is important to remember when providing lists to point out that not all words fit in all situations.

Prepositions and the Additive Relationship

Two prepositions that allow for the addition of similar information are

besides
in addition to

as illustrated in the following two sentences:

What do you do besides running?
Add a pinch of garlic in addition to the teaspoonful of pepper.

Oppositional/Contrastive

One way to look at the oppositional or contrastive relationship is as the opposite of the additive relationship. In other words, the speaker, having mentioned one thing, wants to go on to talk about something else which contrasts with and is often in opposition to the first thing.

Conjunctions and the Oppositional or Contrastitive Relationship

The following conjunctions are used to express the oppositional/contrastive relationship:

but
although
even though
though
whereas
while
either . . . or

As we have seen above, most conjunctions can be used to link two parallel parts of speech. The oppositional or contrastive conjunctions are no exception. Consider the following examples.

He's a student of English but not a very good one.

My neighbor's dog is large though friendly.

He plans to take either psychology or anthropology next semester.

He's tall and rich but not handsome.

The second use of conjunctions, again as noted above, is to link ideas expressed in clauses.

I gave a presentation at the conference, but it was not well-received.

The janitor washed all the windows, though he didn't do a very good job.

Psychologists are interested in individuals, whereas anthropologists study groups.

Conjunctive Adverbs and the Oppositional/Contrastive Relationship

There are several conjunctive adverbs that can be used to introduce oppositional or contrastive information, as in the list below.

however
instead
on the one hand . . . on the other hand
by contrast
contrastively
nevertheless

The following sentences illustrate the use of some of these conjunctive adverbs:

Monica wanted to go skiing this weekend; however, she's changed her mind because of the weather.

On the one hand, sales have increased; on the other hand, profits have declined.

Republicans outnumber Democrats 3:1 in this county; nevertheless, Democratic candidates usually win here.

Prepositions and the Oppositional/Contrastive Relationship

There are several prepositions that are used to introduce oppositional or contrastive information:

as opposed to
despite
in contrast to
in spite of
instead of
notwithstanding

The following sentences illustrate the use of some of these prepositions:

He runs 25 miles a week despite having bad knees.

In contrast to some southern states, New York State has been steadily losing population over the last twenty years.

Notwithstanding his best efforts, he came in third from last.

Reason - Result

Connectives that introduce the reason for or the result of something are both common and relatively numerous. Of course, it is important to note the difference between the two, and therefore the following lists are divided into connectives that introduce a reason (or cause) and those that introduce a result (or effect).

Conjunctions and the Reason-Result Relationship

Conjunctions that introduce a reason include the following:

as
because
so that
since

The two sentences below illustrate the use of so that and since.

Please dim the lights so that people can read the screen better.

Since my daughter needs 28 more credits, I don't think she will be able to graduate this semester.

Conjunction that introduce a result:

so

The following two sentences illustrate the use of so:

People want to read the screen better, so please dim the lights.

My daughter needs 28 more credits, so I don't think she will be able to graduate this semester.

Conjunctive Adverbs and the Reason-Result Relationship

There are no conjunctive adverbs that introduce a reason. However, there are several conjunctive adverbs that introduce a result:

accordingly
as a result
consequently
for this reason
hence
in consequence
therefore
thus

Two of these are illustrated in the sentences below.

Large companies have an interest in influencing government policy; accordingly, they donate large sums of money to political parties.

I didn't study. As a result, I flunked the final exam.

Prepositions and the Reason-Result Relationship

Prepositions that introduce a reason are the following:

as a result of
because of
due to
in consequence of
on account of

Two are illustrated in the sentences below.

I flunked because of not studying.

Many people are saying they can't retire on account of the slumping stock market.

There are no prepositions that introduce a result.

Time

Expressions of time occur in almost every sentence. As a result, there are a large number of connectives related to time. It is important to note that, with this relationship, the various connectives in each category are even less interchangeable than connectives that cover the other relationships presented in this module. As a result, students need to become familiar with the precise meaning and use of each connective.

Conjunctions and The Time Relationship

The following conjunctions are used to express time relationships:

after
as
as soon as
before
by the time (that)
once
since
until
when
whenever
while

The following sentences illustrate the use of some of these conjunctions:

As soon as a professional sports team has a successful season, the owners raise ticket prices.

I will have already gone home by the time (that) you are done with your class.

She smiles whenever she sees you.

She smiled as she drove by.

Expressions of time are often reversible in the sense that the same meaning can be expressed by rewriting the sentence with a different connective, as illustrated below.

The taxi left before you came out.
By the time (that) you came out, the taxi had already left.
After the taxi left, you came out.

However, it must be emphasized that many deaf students have difficulty recognizing the equivalency of such sentences and may be confused about which event happened first.

Conjunctive Adverbs and the Time Relationship

Again, it is necessary to ensure that students understand the differences in meaning between connectives in the following list.

afterwards
at last
before
finally
first, second
in the end
later
meanwhile
next
previously
subsequently
then

Some of the conjunctive adverbs in the above list are illustrated in the following examples:

I've been waiting for hours. At last, you're here. What happened?

One of my friends in high school ran away with his girlfriend. Previously, he had had some difficulties with the police.

They were thinking about buying a house; in the end, they decided not to.

Prepositions and the Time Relationship

The following prepositions are used to express time relationships:

after
at the time of
before
during
prior to
since
subsequent to
until

The following sentences illustrate the use of some of these prepositions:

Sara gave up running during the later stages of her pregnancy.

The United States has been at war with Iraq since the early nineties.

Subsequent to her divorce Maggie felt much happier.

Conditional

For the most part, conditions are expressed via the use of one of the following conjunctions:

assuming (that)
if
or else
provided (that)
providing (that)
unless
whenever
where
wherever

The sentences below illustrate the use of three of these conjunctions.

You can come in provided that you take off your shoes.

You can't come into my house unless you take off your shoes.

Take off your shoes, or else you cannot come into my house.

These kinds of sentences can be very challenging to deaf students. The three sentences above are similar in meaning. However, notice the relationship between the condition and the "consequence" when the above sentences are expressed using the conjunction if.

You can come in if you take off your shoes.

You can't come into my house if you do not take off your shoes.

If you do not take off your shoes, you cannot come into my house.

For the first sentence, the if can replace provided that without needing to change the structure of the sentence. However, the second two sentences express "negative conditions," which students (and teachers) must be particularly careful with. In the second sentence, it becomes clear that unless in the first set of sentences actually means if … not. Thus, unless you take off … in the first set is expressed as if you do not take off… in the second set. This shows that the clause is a negative condition.

The complexity of meaning and structure is also apparent in the third sentence of each set of sentences above. Not only does the negative condition become apparent in the second set through the use of if … not, but the conditional clause in the first set (or else …) becomes the main clause in the second set (you cannot …), and the main clause becomes the conditional clause (If you do not take off …). The complexity of such relationships and the associated sentence structures can be a significant problem for deaf students in both reading comprehension and written expression.

Conjunctive Adverbs and the Conditional Relationship

Conjunctive adverbs that introduce a condition:

otherwise

as illustrated in the following sentence:

You had better register; otherwise, you won't be able to vote.

Prepositions and the Conditional Relationship

There are no prepositions that introduce a condition.

Example

Connectives that express the example relationship are used to illustrate what has just been talked about. There are no words in English that function solely as conjunctions for this purpose.

Conjunctive Adverbs and the Example Relationship

Conjunctive adverbs that commonly introduce an example are the following:

for example
for instance

The use of for example is illustrated in the sentence below.

Frederick Law Olmstead designed many famous parks; for example, in 1894 he came to Rochester and developed the plan for Seneca Park.

Prepositions and the Example Relationship

Two prepositions that express the example relationship are the following:

including
such as

The use of for example is illustrated in the sentence below.

Frederick Law Olmstead designed many famous parks, including Rochester's Seneca Park and New York's Central Park.