What Are Conjunctions?
Hello, young learners! Today we’re going to learn about special words that help us join other words and ideas together. These special words are called conjunctions. Think of conjunctions as friendly bridges that connect different parts of a sentence!
Why Do We Use Conjunctions?
Imagine you want to tell your friend two things:
– “I like chocolate.”
– “I like vanilla.”
Instead of saying these as separate sentences, you can use a conjunction to combine them:
“I like chocolate and vanilla.”
Isn’t that neat? Conjunctions make our sentences smoother and help us avoid repeating words.
Common Conjunctions to Know
- and – joins similar ideas together
“I have a cat and a dog.”
“Mom bought apples and oranges.”
- but – shows a difference or contrast
“The cake looks good but tastes bad.”
“I wanted to play outside but it was raining.”
- or – shows choices
“Would you like juice or water?”
“We can watch a movie or play a game.”
- so – shows the result or consequence of something
“It was raining, so I took my umbrella.”
“I was hungry, so I ate a sandwich.”
- if – shows a condition or possibility
“If it rains, we will stay inside.”
“You can have dessert if you finish your dinner.”
How to Spot Conjunctions
Here’s a fun way to find conjunctions in sentences:
- Look for words that join two similar things (and)
- Look for words that join opposite ideas (but)
- Look for words that show choices (or)
- Look for words that show what happens because of something (so)
- Look for words that show what might happen (if)
