2015-09-08 Writing: conjunctions

Greg Malivuk
[email protected]
http://www.pastebin.com/u/gmalivuk
---
Homework: finish your paragraph at home, check for sentence structure, punctuation, and capitalization (like we talked about last week)
---
An accountant is a person who keeps track of money.

*Second of all, who should know a foreign language. (“who” is the subject in questions, not statements)
He or she should know a foreign language.
They should know a foreign language.

Good accountants have three important characteristics. First of all, they need to know a lot of information.
---
Conjunctions are words that connect two sentences or clauses together.
FANBOYS
(for), and, (nor), but, or, yet, so
These are coordinating conjunctions, which can connect independent clauses.

John can’t speak French, nor can he read it.
(It is common to use a comma directly before a coordinating conjunction.)
You really need to study more, for there will be a test tomorrow. (like “because”)
---
Sometimes we can choose between “and” and “but”, which are both correct but express different meanings:
My dad lives in Michigan, and my sister lives in Florida. (two facts about my family)
My dad lives in Michigan, but my sister lives in Florida. (emphasizing the contrast)

The people in Boston are great, but it gets hot in the summer. (hot = bad)
The people in Boston are great, and it gets hot in the summer. (hot = good)
---
He works a lot, so they don’t go out much.
They don’t go out much because he works a lot.
(formal and a bit strange: They don’t go out much, for he works a lot.)
---
DON’T use a comma AFTER a conjunction:
*They don’t go out much because, he works a lot. (WRONG)
---
Most conjunctions (including all coordinating conjunctions) have the same meaning as one or more transition signals. Conjunctions occur in the middle of a sentence, and transition signals start a new sentence.

I am not feeling well today because I didn’t sleep enough.
I am not feeling well today. This is because I didn’t sleep enough.

He works a lot, so they don’t go out much.
He works a lot. As a result, they don’t go out much.

I grew up in Michigan and my dad still lives there, but my sister lives in Florida now.
I grew up in Michigan and my dad still lives there. However, my sister lives in Florida now.

The people in Boston are great, and the weather is really nice in the summer.
The people in Boston are great. In addition, the weather is really nice in the summer.