Introduction:

A correlative conjunction is a conjunction that links two elements that are grammatically similar or equivalent. The most common correlative conjunctions are "either/or" and "neither/nor."

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What does a correlative conjunction do?

Correlative conjunctions create pairs of equal elements. By elements, we mean words and phrases within a sentence that are the same part of speech or serve the same function. This could mean two nouns, two adjectives, two verbs, or two of the same kind of phrase. Here are a few examples of correlative conjunctions in sentences:

Because of the bad weather, the class missed both their history and English exams.

They not only ate all the donuts but also drank all the coffee.

I wasn’t sure whether the play was disjointed or avant-garde.

Correlative conjunctions are just one type of conjunction. The other types are subordinating conjunctions and coordinating conjunctions.

Coordinating conjunctions are words that join two elements of equal grammatical rank and syntactic importance. They can join two verbs, two nouns, two adjectives, two phrases, or two independent clauses. In our example above, the word and acts as a coordinating conjunction. When most people think of conjunctions, they think of coordinating conjunctions. The seven coordinating conjunctions can be remembered by using the acronym FANBOYS:

• for
• and
• nor
• but
• or
• yet
• so

Subordinating conjunctions are conjunctions that link independent clauses to dependent clauses. By doing this, the subordinating conjunction demonstrates the relationship between the clauses, which is often a cause-and-effect relationship or a contrast. Here’s a quick example:

He was late to work because there was traffic.

Common subordinating conjunctions include:

• because
• since
• while
• whereas
• though
• although
• as

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For example,

the sentence "I'm either going to the party or staying home" uses the correlative conjunction "either/or" to link the two clauses "I'm going to the party" and "I'm staying home."

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Correlative conjunctions can be used to link all kinds of grammatical elements, including nouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs.

Here are some examples of correlative conjunctions used to link various grammatical elements:

Nouns: "Either you or I am going to have to clean the bathroom."

Verbs: "We neither talked nor listened to each other."

Adjectives: "He was both tired and hungry."

Adverbs: "She ran quickly but carefully."

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