CONJUNCTIONS

The part of speech (or word class) that serves to connect words, phrases, clauses, or sentences. The common conjunctions--and, but, for, or, nor, yet, and so--join the elements of a coordinate structure. A sentence style that employs many coordinate conjunctions is called polysyndeton. A sentence style that omits conjunctions between words, phrases, or clauses is called asyndeton. In contrast to coordinating conjunctions, which connect words, phrases, and clauses of equal rank, subordinating conjunctions connect clauses of unequal rank.

kinds of conjunctions:

A. COORDINATING CONJUNCTIONS (FANBOYS)

for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so

Coordinating conjunctions join equals to one another:

            words to words,          phrases to phrases,          clauses to clauses.

Examples:

Word to word                          most children like cookies and milk

Phrase to phrase                     the gold is hidden at beach or by the lakeside

Clause to clause                      what you say and what you do are two different things

Coordinating conjunctions usually form looser connections than other conjunctions do.

Examples:

Marge was late for work, and she received a cut in pay (very loose)

Marge was late for work, so she received a cut in pay (loose)

Because marge was late for work, she received a cut in pay.

Coordinating conjunctions go in between items joined, not at the beginning or end.

Examples:

Correct : i like coffee, but i dont like tea

Incorrect : but i dont like tea, i like cofee

       

Punctuation with coordinating conjunctions:

When a coordinating conjunction joins two words, phrases, or subordinate clauses, no comma should be placed before the conjunction.

Examples:

Words :  cookies and milk

Phrases :L at the beach or by the likeside

Subordinate clauses : what you say and what you do

A coordinating conjunction joining three or more words, phrases, or subordinate clauses creates a series and requires commas between the elements.

Examples:

Words : peanuts, cookies, and milk

Phrases: in the mountain, at the beach, or by the lakedide

Subordinate clauses: what you think, what you say, and what you do

A coordinating conjunction joining two independent clauses creates a compound sentenses and requires a comma before the coordinating conjunction

Examples:

Tom ate the peanuts, so phil ate the cookies

I dont care for the beach, but i enjoy a good vacation in the mountains.

B. CORRELATIVE CONJUNCTIONS

correlative conjunctions work in pairs to join words and groups of words of equal weight in a sentence. There are six different pairs of correlative conjunctions:

1) either...or

2) not only...but also

3) neither...nor (or increasingly neither...or)

4) both...and

5) whether...or

6) just as...so

Examples:

• You either do your work or prepare for a trip to the office.
• Not only is he handsome, but he is also brilliant.
• Neither the basketball team nor the football team is doing well.
• Both the cross country team and the swimming team are doing well.
• Whether you stay or go is your decision.
• Just as many Americans love football, so many Canadians love ice hockey.

        

C. CONJUNCTIVE ADVERBS

These conjunctions join independent clauses together.

The following are frequently used conjunctive adverbs:

after all

in addition

next

also	incidentally	nonetheless
as a result	indeed	on the contrary
besides	in fact	on the other hand
consequently	in other words	otherwise
finally	instead	still
for example	likewise	then
furthermore	meanwhile	therefore
hence	moreover	thus
however	nevertheless

Examples:

The tire was flat ; therefore, we called a service station

It was a hot day; nevertheless, the roofers worked on the project all day

Punctuation:

Place a semicolon before the conjunctive adverb and a comma after the conjunctive adverb.

     

D. SUBORDINATING CONJUNCTIONS

These words are commonly used as subordinating conjunctions

after	in order (that)	unless
although	insofar as	until
as	in that	when
as far as	lest	whenever
as soon as	no matter how	where
as if	now that	wherever
as though	once	whether
because	provided (that)	while
before	since	why
even if	so that
even though	supposing (that)
how	than
if	that
inasmuch as	though
in case (that)	till

Subordinating conjunctions also join two clauses together, but in doing so, they make one clause dependent (or "subordinate") upon the other.

A subordinating conjunction may appear at a sentence beginning or between two clauses in a sentence. A subordinate conjunction usually provides a tighter connection between clauses than a coordinating conjunctions does.

Loose:	It is raining, so we have an umbrella.
Tight:	Because it is raining, we have an umbrella.

Punctuation Note:

When the dependent clause is placed first in a sentence, use a comma between the two clauses.  When the independent clause is placed first and the dependent clause second, do not separate the two clauses with a comma.

exercise

1. ______you already know mary, you should go to meet her at the airport

    a. so

    b. so that

    c. when

    d. since

2. He is learning English ______ he can get a better and more interesting job.

    a. so that

    b. and

    c. since    

    d. what

3. I'm going to buy a new Beetle, ______ I do think they are over-priced.

    a. since

    b. and

    c. although 

    d. but

4. I don't know ______ I'll be back.

    a. so

    b. so that

    c. when

    d. since

5. We're not making much profit ______ we need to raise our prices.

    a. so 

    b. and

    c. although 

    d. what

key answer

1.    d. since

2.    a. so that

3.    c. although 

4.    c. When

5.    a. so 

Sumber :

http://www.towson.edu/ows/conjunctions.htm

http://grammar.about.com/od/c/g/conjuncterm.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conjunction_%28grammar%29

NOUN CLAUSES

A noun clause is a dependent clause and cannot stand alone as a sentence.  It must be connected to an independent clause, a main clause. A noun clause has its own subject and verb. It can begin with a question word. It can begin with if or whether. And it can begin with that. 

A. Noun clauses with question words:

The following question words can be used to introduce a noun clause: when, where, why, how, who, whom, what, which, whose. 

Example: 

Answer this question using 'I don't know...'

Where does Maria live?

I don't know -------------.

It is incorrect to say, "I don't know where does she live."

Notice that "does she live" is a question form.  Noun clauses cannot be in question form; it has to be a statement.

"I don't know where she lives" is the correct answer.

Noun clauses with who, what, whose + be:

A noun or pronoun that follows main verb 'be' in a question comes in front of 'be' in a noun clause. 

Example:
--> Who is that boy? I don't know who that boy is.

--> Whose pen is this? I don't know whose pen this is.

A prepositional phrase does not come in front of 'be' in a noun clause. 

Example:
--> Who is in the office? I don't know who is in the office.

--> Whose pen is on the desk? I don't know whose pen is on the desk.

Notice that usual word order is not used when the question word is the subject of the question as in 'who' and 'what'.  In this case, the word order in the noun clause is the same as the word order in question.

Be sure to complete the exercises in the assignments.

B. Noun clauses, which begin with if or whether:

When a yes/no question is changed to a noun clause, if is usually used to introduce the clause.  

Example:
--> Is Maria at home?

               I don't know if Maria is at home.

--> Does this bus go to Los Angeles?

               I don't know if this bus goes to Los Angeles.

--> Did Juan go to Mexico?

               I wonder if Juan went to Mexico.

Frequently, speakers may add 'or not'.  This comes at the end of the noun clause in sentences with 'if' and immediately after 'whether' in sentences with 'whether'.

Example:
--> I don't know if Maria is at home or not. 

--> I don't know whether or not Maria is at home.

Notice that we cannot use 'or not' immediately after 'if'.

C. Noun clauses which begin with that: 

A noun clause can be introduced by the word 'that'.

--> I think that Ms. Weiss is a good teacher.

In the sentence above, 'Ms. Weiss is a good teacher' is a noun clause. It is the object of the verb 'think'.

That clauses are frequently used as the object of verbs which express mental activity. Here are some common verbs followed by 'that clauses'. 

Assume that   believe that  discover that dream that

Guess that    hear that     hope that     know that

Learn that    notice that   predict that  prove that   

Realize that  suppose that  suspect that  think that

Noun Clause Formula

Noun clause used as an object He said something. S + V + O He said that he was sick. Noun clause used as a subject Something is your business. S + V Whatever you do is your business. Someone is still in the cafeteria. S + V Whoever ate my lunch is still in the cafeteria.

What did he say? What is your business? Who is in the cafeteria?

The subordinator may take the "subject" or "object" position in a noun clause.

Note the usage of the following:

Henry loves Mary. (S V O) Mary loves Jim. (S V O) The person who(m) Lee loves is a secret. The person who loves Tim is a secret. Who(m) Henry loves is a secret. Who loves Tim is a secret.

Mary is the "object" of the sentence. Mary is the "subject" of the sentence. Relative clause (subordinator in obj. position) Relative clause (subordinator in subj. position) Noun clause (subordinator in obj. position) Noun clause (subordinator in subj. position)

Subordinators which are used in noun clauses:

(Some of these words are also used in grammar: relative clause and grammar: Wh - Questions)

that what who whoever whatever whether

which where when how why if

how much how many how long how far how often whose

Remember to preserve word order in noun clauses:

I don't know who he is.

Whoever she is is not important.

Whatever is in the box is a mystery.

Can you tell me what he is doing?

She doesn't undestand why he is leaving.

I wonder how much that costs.

Do you know how long it will take?

Exercise

1.  Do you know _____________________?
    A.  where we will be taking the TOEFL test
    B.  where will we be taking the TOEFL test
    C.  where we will taking the TOEFL test
2.  _{______________________} when the others will arrive? 
     A.  Do Steve know
     B.  Do Steve knows
     C.  Does Steve know
3.  ________________ is hire a tutor who can help them with their math skills.
      A.   What they do
      B.   What they should do
      C.   Whatever they should do
 4.  ______________is unimportant to her peers.
      A.  Whether she passes or not
      B.  Whether does she pass or not
      C.  Whether she pass or not

5. Sue Ellen does not know ____________________.
     A.  who the rest of the students are going to come to the movies
     B.  what the rest of the students are going to come to the movies
     C.  if the rest of the students are going to come to the movies
 

Key answer

1.      A.  where we will be taking the TOEFL test
2.      C.  Does Steve know
3.      B.   What they should do
4.      A.  Whether she passes or not
5.      C.  if the rest of the students are going to come to the movies

Sumber :
http://www.testyourenglish.net/english-online/subjects/nouncl1.html
http://www.eslgold.com/grammar/noun_clauses.html