Conjunctions for Kids | Learn about coordinating, correlative, and subordinating conjunctions

Introduction to Conjunctions for Kids Today, we are talking about conjunctions. You know, the kinds of words that help hold or connect words, phrases, and sentences together. Kind of like the glue you would use to create a collage or another cool art project. Let's learn more, shall we? Have you ever heard the word junction before? A junction is a place where something is joined together, like where a road meets train tracks. When it comes to sentences, conjunctions do the same kind of thing. They can join two sentences together to form one sentence, which makes the easier to understand. This is why conjunctions are sometimes called joining words. Here is an interesting fact. There are three different kinds of conjunctions. Coordinating conjunctions, correlative conjunctions, and subordinating conjunctions. We are going to learn about all three. Let's start with coordinating conjunctions. Coordinating conjunctions are used to join a noun with another noun, an adjective with another adjective, an adverb with another adverb, etc. Or they combine phrases and clauses together. Examples of coordinating conjunctions are for, and, nor, but, or, yet. So, want to know a fun trick? You can use the acronym FANBOYS to help you remember each word. Let's see if we can find the right conjunction to complete the following sentences. Remember, we are only going to use coordinating conjunctions. The dog, blank, cat, get along, blank, do not share their food. Which words do you think work best in this sentence? Did you choose these words? Excellent! The dog and cat get along, but, do not share their food. Should we try more? I do not like ice cream, blank, popsicles, blank, I never eat them. Which conjunctions work in this sentence? I do not like ice cream or popsicles, so, I never eat them. Well done, word wizards! Next up are correlative conjunctions. The word correlate means to compare or relate. So, these conjunctions are used in pairs to join alternative or equal elements, like nouns or adjectives, together in one sentence. Words like either, or, neither, nor, not only, but also, and, if, then, are all correlative conjunctions. Here is an example of a sentence that uses correlative conjunctions. Neither rain nor snow keeps the mail from being delivered. Can you spot the conjunctions? That is right! Neither and nor are the conjunctions in this sentence. Now you try. Which words work best for the following sentence? She, blank, blank, won a gold medal, blank, blank, a silver medal. Hmm, what do you think? Does your sentence read, She, not only, won a gold medal, but, also, a silver medal. Awesome work! You are all getting good at this! Last up are subordinating conjunctions. They are words or phrases that connect dependent clauses, which are incomplete sentences on their own, to independent clauses, which can stand alone as their own separate sentences. Subordinating conjunctions can also be used to introduce adverb clauses. After, although, as soon as, because, before, even if, since, unless, until, whenever, whether or not, and while are just a few examples of subordinating conjunctions. Wow! That's a lot of information! Let's look at an example of a sentence with subordinating conjunctions. Whether or not you believe me, I am telling the truth. Using commas. Commas can be used with conjunctions to help make a sentence clearer. Here are some rules to keep in mind when deciding whether to use a comma in a sentence or not. Use commas when there is a list of three or more things. For lunch today, I ate a hamburger, french fries, and a pizza. Use them between two independent clauses or sentences. We may spend some time on the beach or we may go to the moon. For short clauses, a comma is not always needed. Noah drinks soda and Emma drinks juice. Use a comma when a dependent or subordinate clause begins a sentence. Unless chocolate sauce is available, I will not eat a hot dog. That's silly. I'd rather have ketchup with my hot dog. The important word here, though, is the conjunction unless that begins our dependent clause. And if the dependent clause comes at the end of the sentence, no comma is needed. I will not eat ice cream if there is no ketchup available. What? Ketchup on ice cream? No thanks. Conjunctions are an important part of speech and can be used to make your sentences easier to understand. They are the glue that holds sentences together. The more you use them, the easier it will be to create awesome sentences. And remember, practice makes progress. Hope you had fun learning with us. Visit us at learnbright.org for thousands of free resources and turnkey solutions for teachers and homeschoolers.