Conjunction

In grammar, a conjunction is a part of speech that connects words, phrases, or clauses that are called the conjuncts of the conjoining construction. The term discourse marker is mostly used for conjunctions joining sentences. This definition may overlap with that of other parts of speech, so what constitutes a "conjunction" must be defined for each language. In English a given word may have several senses, being either a preposition or a conjunction depending on the syntax of the sentence (for example, "after" being a preposition in "he left after the fight" versus it being a conjunction in "he left after they fought"). In general, a conjunction is an invariable grammatical particle and it may or may not stand between the items conjoined.

The definition may also be extended to idiomatic phrases that behave as a unit with the same function, e.g. "as well as", "provided that".

A simple literary example of a conjunction: "the truth of nature, and the power of giving interest". (Samuel Taylor Coleridge's Biographia Literaria)

Conjunctions may be placed at the beginning of sentences: "But some superstition about the practice persists".

Examples

• "But she must give security that she will not marry without royal consent, if she holds her lands of the Crown, or without the consent of whatever other lord she may hold them of."—Magna Carta (1215), translated into modern English
• "But we, or our chief justice if we are not in England, are first to be informed."— Magna Carta (1215), translated into modern English
• "And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor."
• "But in all such Cases the Votes of both Houses shall be determined by Yeas and Nays, and the Names of the Persons voting for and against the Bill shall be entered on the Journal of each House respectively."—United States Constitution (1787)
• "And the Congress may by general Laws prescribe the Manner in which such Acts, Records and Proceedings shall be proved, and the Effect thereof."—United States Constitution (1787)
• "And this power has been exercised when the last act, required from the person possessing the power, has been performed."—United States Supreme Court Judgment (1803)
• "But, in a larger sense, we can not dedicate, we can not consecrate, we can not hallow this ground." Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address (1863)
• "Yet, if God wills that it continue until all the wealth piled by the bondsman's two hundred and fifty years of unrequited toil shall be sunk, and until every drop of blood drawn with the lash shall be paid by another drawn with the sword, as was said three thousand years ago, so still it must be said "the judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether."Abraham Lincoln's Second Inaugural Address (1865)
• "So the inquiries can coexist, though there is much overlap between them."
• "And it appears that it was this latter factor which underlay the dismissal of the appeal by the majority. But it seems to me that the question of whether it is fair, just and reasonable is better considered against the background of whether a sufficiently proximate relationship exists."
• "But the earlier decisions in Pratap Narain Singh Deo and Valsala K. were not brought to the notice of the Court in the two later decisions in Mubasir Ahmed and Mohd. Nasir."
• "And now we have Facebook and Twitter and Wordpress and Tumblr and all those other platforms that take our daily doings and transform them into media."
• "So any modern editor who is not paranoid is a fool".
• "And strikes are protected globally, existing in many of the countries with labour laws outside the Wagner Act model."

Dependent Clause

A dependent clause is a clause that provides a sentence element with additional information, but which cannot stand alone as a sentence. A dependent clause can either modify an adjacent clause or serve as a component of an independent clause. Some grammarians use the term subordinate clause to refer only to adverbial dependent clauses.

The different types of dependent clauses include content clauses (noun clauses), relative (adjectival) clauses, and adverbial clauses.

In Indo-European languages, a dependent clause usually begins with a dependent word. One kind of dependent word is a subordinating conjunction. Subordinating conjunctions are used to begin dependent clauses known as adverbial clauses, which serve as adverbs.

In the following examples, the adverbial clauses are bold and the subordinating conjunctions are italicized:

• Wherever she goes, she leaves her luggage (The adverbial clause wherever she goes modifies the verb leaves.)
• Bob enjoyed the movie more than I did. (The adverbial clause than I did modifies the adverb more.)

A subordinating conjunction can also introduce a noun clause:

• I know that he likes me. (The noun clause that he likes me serves as the object of the main-clause verb know.)

Another type of dependent word is the relative pronoun. Relative pronouns begin dependent clauses known as relative clauses; these are adjective clauses, because they modify nouns. In the following example, the relative clause is bold and the relative pronoun is italicized:

• The only one of the seven dwarfs who does not have a beard is Dopey. (The adjective clause who does not have a beard describes the pronoun one.)

A relative adverb plays the part of an adverb in a relative clause, as in

• That is the reason why I came. (The relative clause why I came describes the noun reason, and within the relative clause the adverb why modifies the verb came.)
• That is the place where he lives. (The relative clause where he lives describes the noun place, and within the relative clause the adverb where modifies the verb lives.)

An interrogative word can serve as an adverb in a noun clause, as in

• No one understands why you need experience. (The noun clause why you need experience functions as the direct object of the main-clause verb "understands", and within the noun clause why serves as an adverb modifying need.)

Complex Sentence

A complex sentence has one or more dependent clauses (also called subordinate clauses). Since a dependent clause cannot stand on its own as a sentence, complex sentences must also have at least one independent clause. In short, a sentence with one or more dependent clauses and at least one independent clause is a complex sentence.

A sentence with two or more independent clauses plus one or more dependent clauses is called compound-complex or complex-compound.

In addition to a subject and a verb, dependent clauses contain a subordinating conjunction or similar word. There are a large number of subordinating conjunctions in English. Some of these give the clause an adverbial function, specifying time, place, or manner. Such clauses are called adverbial clauses.

When I stepped out into the bright sunlight, from the darkness of the movie house, I had only two things on my mind. (S. E. Hinton, The Outsiders))
This complex sentence contains an adverbial clause, When I stepped out into the bright sunlight from the darkness of the movie house. The adverbial clause describes when the action of the main clause, I had only two things on my mind, took place. A relative clause is a dependent clause that modifies a noun or noun phrase in the independent clause. In other words, the relative clause functions similar to an adjective.

• Let him who has been deceived complain. (Miguel de Cervantes, Don Quixote)
• You, who have never known your family, see them standing around you. (J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone)

A noun clause is a dependent clause that functions like a noun.

In the first example, the restrictive relative clause who has been deceived specifies or defines the meaning of him in the independent clause, Let him complain.

In the second example, the non-restrictive relative clause who have never known your family describes you in the independent clause, You see them standing around you.

A noun clause may function as the subject of a clause, or as a predicate nominative or an object.
What she had realised was that love was that moment when your heart was about to burst. (Stieg Larsson, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo)
In this sentence the independent clause contains two noun clauses.
The noun clause What she had realized serves as the subject of the verb was, and that love was that moment serves as complement. The sentence also contains a relative clause, when your heart was about to burst.

Clause

A clause is a grammatical unit built around a verb that typically contains a subject and a predicate. Understanding clauses is essential because they are the core building blocks of every sentence you read, write, or speak.

What makes a clause?

At minimum, a clause needs a verb (the predicate) and, in most cases, a subject — the person or thing the verb says something about. The predicate can also include objects, complements, and modifiers.

• She laughed. — subject (she) + verb (laughed)
• The manager approved the budget yesterday. — subject + verb + object + modifier

Sometimes the subject is left out. This happens regularly in imperative sentences and non-finite clauses:

• Sit down. — no visible subject, but "you" is understood
• Walking home, I noticed the shop was closed. — the -ing clause has no stated subject

Types of clauses

There are two main types:

• Independent clause (also called a main clause) — can stand on its own as a complete sentence. It contains a finite verb.

  • I missed the bus.

• Dependent clause (also called a subordinate clause) — cannot stand alone and needs an independent clause to make sense.

  • Because I overslept — incomplete on its own

Combine them and you get a complex sentence:

• I missed the bus because I overslept.

A simple sentence has one independent clause. More complex sentences combine independent and dependent clauses in various ways.

Quick check: If you can remove a group of words from a sentence and it still has a subject + finite verb and makes sense on its own, that group is likely an independent clause.

Why clauses matter

Recognizing clause boundaries helps you punctuate correctly, avoid run-on sentences, and build more varied, natural-sounding writing. Once you can spot where one clause ends and another begins, sentence structure becomes much easier to manage.

Ready to practice? Try Complex Sentence for the basics, then move on to Complex Sentence: Adverbials or Participle Clauses: Shortening Sentences with -ing and Having + Past Participle to deepen your skills.

Imperative Mood

The imperative mood is a grammatical mood that forms a command or request.

An example of a verb used in the imperative mood is the English sentence Please be quiet. Such imperatives imply a second-person subject (you), but some other languages also have first- and third-person imperatives, with the meaning of let's (do something) or let him/her/them (do something) (the forms may alternatively be called cohortative and jussive.

Imperative mood can be denoted by the glossing abbreviation. It is one of the irrealis moods.

Formation

Imperative mood is often expressed using special conjugated verb forms. Like other finite verb forms, imperatives often inflect for person and number. Second-person imperatives (used for ordering or requesting performance directly from the person being addressed) are most common, but some languages also have imperative forms for the first and third persons (alternatively called cohortative and jussive respectively).

In English, the imperative is formed using the bare infinitive form of the verb (see verbs for more details). This is usually also the same as the second-person present indicative form, except in the case of the verb to be, where the imperative is be while the indicative is are. (The present subjunctive always has the same form as the imperative, although it is negated differently – the imperative is negated using do not, as in Don't touch me!) The imperative form is understood as being in the second person (the subject pronoun you is usually omitted, although it can be included for emphasis), with no explicit indication of singular or plural.

First and third person imperatives are expressed periphrastically, using a construction with the imperative of the verb let:

• Let us (Let's) have a drink! (equivalent to a first person plural imperative)
• Let him/her/them be happy! (equivalent to a third person imperative; constructions with may are also used)

Usage

Imperatives are used principally for ordering, requesting or advising the listener to do (or not to do) something: Put down the gun!; Pass me the sauce; Don't go too near the tiger. They are also often used for giving instructions as to how to perform a task (Install the file, then restart your computer). They can sometimes be seen on signs giving orders or warnings (Stop; Give way; Do not enter).

The use of the imperative mood may be seen as impolite, inappropriate or even offensive in certain circumstances. In polite speech, orders or requests are often phrased instead as questions or statements, rather than as imperatives:

• Could you come here for a moment? (more polite than Come here!)
• It would be great if you made us a drink. (for Make us a drink!)
• I have to ask you to stop. (for Stop!)

Politeness strategies (for instance, indirect speech acts) can seem more appropriate in order not to threaten a conversational partner in their needs of self-determination and territory: the partner's negative face should not appear threatened. As well as the replacement of imperatives with other sentence types as discussed above, there also often exist methods of phrasing an imperative in a more polite manner, such as the addition of a word like please or a phrase like if you could. Imperatives are also used for speech acts whose function is essentially not to make an order or request, but to give an invitation, give permission, express a wish, make an apology, etc.:

• Come to the party tomorrow! (invitation)
• Eat the apple if you want. (permission)
• Have a nice trip! (wish)
• Pardon me. (apology)
• Visit Estonia and Armenia! (advertisement)

When written, imperative sentences are often, but not always, terminated with an exclamation mark. First person plural imperatives (cohortatives) are used mainly for suggesting an action to be performed together by the speaker and the addressee (and possibly other people): Let's go to Barbados this year; Let us pray. Third person imperatives (jussives) are used to suggest or order that a third party or parties be permitted or made to do something: Let them eat cake; Let him be executed. There is an additional imperative form that is used for general prohibitions, consisting of the word no followed by the gerund form. The best known examples are No Smoking and No Parking. This form does not have a positive form; that is, Parking by itself has no meaning unless used as a noun when it tells that parking is permitted.

English usually omits the subject pronoun in imperative sentences:

• You work hard. (indicative)
• Work hard! (imperative; subject pronoun you omitted)

However, it is possible to include the you in imperative sentences for emphasis.

English imperatives are negated using don't (as in Don't work!) This is a case of do-support as found in indicative clauses; however in the imperative it applies even in the case of the verb be (which does not use do-support in the indicative):

• You are not late. (indicative)
• Don't be late! (imperative)

It is also possible to use do-support in affirmative imperatives, for emphasis or (sometimes) politeness: Do be quiet!; Do help yourself!.

The subject you may be included for emphasis in negated imperatives as well, following don't: Don't you dare do that again!

Humor

Humor is subjective, but at least the author tried.

B1 | Intermediate

B1 is the intermediate level of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR). It marks the point where you move beyond survival English and start expressing yourself with real independence — describing experiences, explaining opinions, and handling everyday situations without a script.

What a B1 user can do

At this level, you're expected to:

• Understand the main points of clear, standard speech and writing on familiar topics — work, school, travel, hobbies.
• Handle most travel situations in English-speaking environments.
• Produce simple connected text on topics you know or care about.
• Describe experiences, events, hopes, and plans, and give brief reasons and explanations for your opinions.
• Communicate in routine tasks that require a straightforward exchange of information.

What B1 grammar looks like

B1 is where grammar starts to get more layered. You're not just forming basic sentences anymore — you're combining ideas, using different tenses with more precision, and starting to handle structures like the passive voice, modal verbs for necessity and possibility, and gerunds vs. infinitives. You're also expected to build complex sentences with linking words and dependent clauses.

Typical B1 grammar areas include:

• Future tenses — distinguishing will, going to, and the present continuous for future plans
• Passive voice — The report was written yesterday.
• Modal verbs — You should apply early. / She might be late.
• Used to — I used to live in Berlin.
• Verb patterns — knowing whether a verb takes a gerund, an infinitive, or both (I enjoy reading vs. I decided to leave)

What B1 doesn't mean

B1 speakers still hesitate, make grammatical errors, and sometimes struggle with less familiar topics. That's normal. The key difference from A2 is that you can keep a conversation going and get your point across even when things aren't perfect. The step up to B2 involves handling more abstract topics, understanding nuance, and producing more complex, accurate language.

Self-check: Can you tell a friend about a recent trip — what happened, what you liked, and what you'd do differently — without switching to your native language? If yes, you're likely operating at B1 or above.

Ready to find out where you stand? Try Are you B1/Intermediate? Test your English CEFR Level to figure out!, then build your skills with challenges like Basics. Passive Voice, Basics. Modal verbs, and Used to.

Difficulty: Medium

Medium difficulty. Difficulty levels represent author's opinion about how hard a question or challenge is.