3.6 Conjunctions and Interjections
Preview
This section covers the following topics:
- using conjunctions
- recognizing and avoiding interjections
We have studied six of the eight parts of speech. The last two are the easiest.
Conjunctions
Conjunctions are words that connect. (Think what the word “junction” means: a place where things cross or connect.) Conjunctions connect two or more people, things, places, or ideas. They also can connect two or more parts of a sentence.
The most common conjunctions are “for,” “and,” “nor,” “but,” “or,” “yet,” and “so” (called “fanboys” after the first letter of each word). For example:
The small bird flew swiftly towards the tree, but it nearly collided with a crow. It swerved at the last minute and landed safely. Neither the crow nor the small bird was hurt, yet both seemed upset.
Other conjunctions–such as “because,” “since,” “after,” “as,” “when,” “while,” and “although”–can begin dependent clauses and connect them to the main part of the sentence. (More about clauses in Ch. 4.)
For example:
The library and its landscaping impress people when they first visit our campus. (“and” joins “library” with “landscaping.” Then “when” joins the main part of the sentence with the dependent clause at the end.)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RPoBE-E8VOc
Exercise 1
Find any conjunctions in the following sentences. List them.
- Netta has a cheerful attitude while her husband is always gloomy.
- Lydia is thoughtful and kind.
- Dorian’s math skills are good, although they are not as good as mine.
- My handwriting is not worse than yours nor is it better.
- Hilton went through drug rehab twice, but the second time seems to have worked.
Interjections
Interjections convey a greeting or show surprise or other emotions.
Interjections are common in spoken English but rare in written English because they are considered very casual. Interjections are like an emoticon (which also should be avoided in college and business writing). Interjections are usually followed by an exclamation point!
Here is a list of common interjections, but there are hundreds more:
| blech | gak | ouch | wow |
| boo-yah | geez | rats | whoa |
| darn | ha | sweet | yikes |
| duh | huh | ugh | yippee |
| eek | oh | uh-oh | yuck |
| eww | oops | whoa | yum |
Exercise 2
Go back to the sentences in Ex. 1, Ch. 3.1 for a final time.
You have marked all the nouns, pronouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, and prepositions using the appropriate highlight color. Double check to be sure your answers are correct.
Now, mark any conjunctions by highlighting them in pink and any interjections by highlighting them in gray.
If you have done this series of exercises correctly, every word will be identified by the job it is doing and the relationships between the words will be clear.
Now, submit this complete (and colorful) assignment.
Takeaways
- Conjunctions are helpful connectors.
- Interjections show emotion, but should be avoided in college and professional writing.
a group of words that contains a subject and a verb but is dependent on the rest of the sentence to finish the thought
