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Sentences (Connectives) 02
In the following sentence the connectives are in capital letters. He was late getting up AND missed his breakfast BUT he was early for school.

Sentences (Connectives) 02

English students are taught that connectives (joining words) such as "because" and "if" are used in complex sentences to show that one clause depends on another, e.g. "He missed the bus because he overslept".

In the sentence above, the basic piece of information conveyed is that "He missed the bus". Connectives are helpful because they allow us to make logical connections between different pieces of information. So here, there is a reason why he missed the bus, which is that "he overslept". Rather than writing two unconnected sentences, "He missed the bus. He overslept", using the word "because" elegantly expresses the reason the two pieces of information are related. Clever, eh?

It's important to choose the correct connective, however. If we replace "because" with "so", the sentence no longer works: "He missed the bus so he overslept". "So" would work in another sentence: "He missed the bus so he walked instead". Think carefully about the logical link you are trying to express through the use of a connective.

See if you can get full marks in this quiz about connectives.

1.
Find the correct connective in the following.
School will shut early ....... heavy snow is expected tonight.
although
because
if
while
"Because" introduces the reason for the early closure
2.
Find the correct connective in the following.
I twisted my ankle ....... I was playing tennis.
although
during
if
while
"During" would work as part of an adverbial phrase: "I twisted my ankle during tennis practice"
3.
Find the correct connective in the following.
He was born here ....... his family moved abroad.
before
during
if
until
"But" and "although" would also make sense here. "Until" would not work, although it would make sense in a revised sentence: "He lived here until his family moved abroad"
4.
Find the correct connective in the following.
He asked his mum ....... he could go to the party.
and
if
since
while
"Whether" would also work, although it is somewhat formal for this context
5.
Find the correct connective in the following.
Will the hike still take place ....... it rains tomorrow?
and
but
if
or
"If" acknowledges that whether or not it will rain tomorrow is currently unknown. The hike may or may not be conditional on the weather
6.
Find the correct connective in the following.
Is there computer club ....... school finishes today?
after
although
and
since
"Before" would also make sense, although it might imply that school is finishing for a holiday, rather than just for the day
7.
Find the correct connective in the following.
The show had started ....... he arrived at the theatre.
and
because
if
when
"When he arrived at the theatre" makes no sense by itself, although it would be possible to swap the order of the sentence around to say "When he arrived at the theatre, the show had started"
8.
Find the correct connective in the following.
I will go shopping ....... you will come and help me.
although
but
if
or
"If" introduces the idea of one event being conditional upon another
9.
Find the correct connective in the following.
He arrived at the pool ....... it opened.
although
before
but
or
It is possible to begin sentences with connectives, but make sure they are complete. It would be correct, for example, to write a sentence such as this: "Before the pool opened, he was waiting at the door"
10.
Find the correct connective in the following.
Go straight on ....... you see a supermarket on the right.
before
since
until
whereas
How many connectives do you know?
You can find more about this topic by visiting BBC Bitesize - What is grammar?

Author:  Sue Daish

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