They are elements that unite or establish a link between linguistic elements that are grouped to form larger units. In other words, a conjunction is capable of joining two sentences, in order to build a third with total meaning and logical complementation. The conjunction can be a word or a set of them, which can join words, phrases, propositions (simple sentences) and phrases.
From a morphological point of view, a conjunction is an invariable word and semantically has no meaning.
They serve to coordinate elements that have an identical function within a sentence, to coordinate two propositions, and to subordinate one proposition to another. This is how there are two groups of conjunctions. The coordinators and subordinates.
Coordinating conjunctions, also known as proper conjunctions, unite words, phrases and sentences that have the same syntactic level, that is, their elements can be changed position without the meaning they produce as a whole being altered. An example of this would be the use of the y. "He is tall and thin" is the same as saying "He is thin and tall . The coordinating conjunctions in turn can be: copulative, disjunctive, adversative, explanatory or distributive.
On the other hand, subordinating conjunctions, also known as improper, beyond joining words or phrases, focus on joining sentences, but with the condition that these cannot be interchanged because the meaning they have as a whole would be lost, since a "hierarchy" is given to each one, where one of them does not make complete sense without the company of the other. Subordinate conjunctions can be of place, time, mode, comparative, consecutive, causal, conditional, final or conjunctive phrases.
Conjunctions are terms used to relate two elements. This relationship can be asymmetric, that is, where one element has the focus of attention, while the other is sent to the background. This asymmetric relationship was explained in 1978 by Talmy as " figure / ground", which occurs both in simple sentences and in compound sentences. In these, the phrase "subordinate" would function as the background, and the phrase "main" as the figure. One of the examples used by Talmy was the use of the term while in the English language, which in Spanish is equivalent to while.
The word conjunction is also used when you want to refer to the union of two or more things, when presenting an idea. For example: "there was a conjunction of efforts to reach the established goal" or "looking good is the conjunction of good nutrition and good dress . "
Conjunctions and Prepositions
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Conjunctions are the words that serve to establish unions between two or more words, but they are not related. They are variable and do not change their gender or number.
Prepositions: are the words that are used to join other words to a sentence and are related to each other. They are invariable words, they do not have endings that establish the gender or number:
Copulative conjunctions, this type of conjunctions is part of the group of coordinating or coordinated conjunctions, that is, their function is to link or unite the parts of a sentence according to the logic of equality and they do not show semantic or hierarchical differences. These conjunctions also work by joining the components of a sentence, either positive or negative.
The most used conjunction in the Spanish language is "and" is very repeated in children's language, as a subsequent expression of sentences, for example, "my friends and my dog and my brother and I play with them" . As another language resource, "e" is used instead of "y" when the next word begins with "i" or "hi" , for example, "parents and children participated at lunch . "
The copulative conjunction "nor" is used to replace "and not" also adds the use of the terms, for example, "He did not fulfill his work" nor "did he attend school" . and it works in a negative way. It is also used in a propositional way and substitutes the expression "not even" , for example, "He doesn't want to work . When accompanied by the preposition "that" the exclamation is a resounding negation, for example, "What vacation" or what "vacation" .
Adversative conjunctions are words or linguistic resources with which two phrases or words can be contrasted. They are conjunctions that oppose or present antagonistic or exclusive options. In these cases the setbacks according to their function, must be total or partial.
The links used by the adversative conjunction are "but", "although", "nevertheless", "nevertheless" "but" "but" "but" "nevertheless" , these always have a pause before expressed by a comma or semicolon, for example. "He suffered a fall, but he's fine", "Not Maria, but Elena."
Disjunctive conjunctions, are the letters "o, u" their main characteristic is that when joining or trying to link the parts of a sentence they express options to choose between one of them, it can also be used to put the first one before the second.
The alternatives of this conjunction are:
- Excluding or exclusive: in this case the dilemma "o" is used , for example, "come or stay" , it can also be used in the form of an ultimatum, "either you dance or you don't dance"
- Open: this can be inclusive or exclusive, for example, "you work or study"
Of denominative equivalence: it is used to join two expressions of equal denominative value, example, "Don Avalo or The Force of the century"
Subordinate conjunctions also called or subordinative, are characterized by joining two propositions, the united propositions are not interchanged, at least one of the propositions does not have a complete sound without the other, one proposition has a higher syntactic hierarchy than the other.
Subordinate conjunctions are divided into three large groups:
- Subordinate substantives
- Adverbial subordinates.
Subordinate adjectives, also known as relative
The most useful conjunctions in these groups are: well, because, as well as, provided, provided, when, before, because, above all, well, since, examples:
- Maria likes music as well as art.
- You must talk to your mother. This way you will feel better.
- We did what we could, so I hope that's enough.
- We will go on a trip as long as I have money.
Coordinating conjunctions, these conjunctions are in charge of joining or intertwining a sentence by their level of similarity, that is, they do not present semantic differences between the parts that make up a sentence.
Coordinate conjunctions are as follows: y, ni, e, o, u, is, well, although, on the contrary, before, nevertheless, however, but, more, either.
Examples:
- We will go to the movies and have dinner.
- We want to go to the mall, even if it's far away.
- I'm not sad. On the contrary, I am very excited.
- We will not buy liquor or sodas.
Conjunctions in English
As in the Spanish language, conjunctions in English allow paragraphs to be easier and more comfortable to read, as they provide greater fluency in the text. The most used conjunctions in English are:
- And = Y
- But = But
- However = However
- Or = O
- So = So / Therefore
- Then = Then
- Although = Although
- Yet = Still
It is not common to use a conjunction in English to begin a sentence, however, modern English allows an exception to the rule, as long as its use has a specific reason. Likewise, it is important to mention that using too many conjunctions in English can result in a grammatically defective sentence or in what are known in the language as “run-on sentences”. We must remember that each sentence contains a main idea, so using many conjunctions to make it longer would only make it more difficult to understand.
Other Conjunctions
Explanatory conjunctiva: These conjunctions are a subclass of subordinate conjunctions. As expressed by their name, they are the give an explanation or express or clarify the parts of a sentence. These conjunctions join propositions that express the same thing, although in different ways. It usually produces isolated turns between commas, examples, bone, that is, rather, that is.
Examples
- The literary work is very interesting, indeed, it has won many awards.
- He is living in a better house, that is, in a bigger place and in a better area.
- The party is with a formal suit, that is, with very elegant clothes.
Distributive conjunctions: They are those that distribute or alternate the elements that make up a sentence. They are also conjunctions considered correlative words that function as alternative links between two or more sentences.
The most used distributive conjunctions are, ora, sea, ya and out.
Examples
- Outside at home or out in the gym, he likes to exercise.
- I was already listening to the radio, I was already watching television.
- It doesn't matter whether it's today or tomorrow.
