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Subordinating Conjunctions
Subordinating conjunctions are conjunctions that show a relationship between two ideas and always come at the beginning of the secondary idea. Common subordinating conjunctions include: after, until, as, because, even though, now that, rather than, so that, that, when and while. The Turtle Diary lesson explains that subordinating conjunctions connect an independent clause with a dependent clause to create one sentence. The examples used are creative and descriptive making the lesson fun to learn. It is important for children to understand this concept as part of their language arts skills. Children with expertise in language arts become skilled readers and writers.
What Are Subordinating Conjunctions?
What are some examples?
Commonly Used Subordinating Conjunctions
Subordinating Conjunction | Example |
---|---|
after | After the baseball game, we all went for pizza. |
although | Although my favorite color is red, I prefer to wear yellow most days. |
as | Everyone was feeling more confident as we continued to study for the test. |
because | My favorite team is the Rockets because my dad loved them as a boy. |
before | I remembered to wash my hands before we ate dinner. |
since | Since Halloween is over, I’m going to start preparing for Christmas. |
though | We love to eat desserts though we could eat fruit instead. |
until | Until I was in 1st grade, I wasn’t able to tie my shoes. |
whereas | Charlie loved mathematics whereas her cousin Rhys preferred history. |
while | While we waited in line, my best friend and I played a hand-slap game. |
Often you can think of subordinating conjunctions in terms of groups based on the information that they help to provide. Take a look at this chart:
Condition | Concession | Comparison |
---|---|---|
assuming that | although | as much as |
if | even though | rather than |
only if | though | than |
provided that | whereas | |
unless | whether |
Manner | Place | Reason |
---|---|---|
as if | where | as |
as though | wherever | because |
how | in order to/that | |
since | ||
so that |
Relative Adjectives | Relative Pronouns | Time |
---|---|---|
that | who | after |
whatever | whoever | as soon as |
which | whom | now that |
whichever | whomever | until |
whose | whenever |
Can an adverb be a conjunction?
Here’s an example:
I thought the wallaby was a weird marsupial until I saw the platypus.
The independent clause: I thought the wallaby was a weird marsupial.
The dependent clause: Until I saw the platypus
The dependent clause cannot stand by itself as a sentence, but using the subordinating conjunction until enables the two clauses to be linked together for a complete thought.
QUICK TIP!
The subordinating conjunction must always stay with the dependent clause in the sentence, and uses a comma when it starts the sentence.
Until I saw the platypus, I thought the wallaby was a weird marsupial.
After we went to the zoo, my sister became obsessed with animals.