The pedestal drawers come in black or white.
Logins and passwords are essential to maintaining the department’s intranet security.
Conjunctions
Conjunctions are a class of word that links words, phrases, clauses or sentences. The most common are ‘for’, ‘and’, ‘nor’, ‘but’, ‘or’, ‘yet’ and ‘so’ (you can remember them with the mnemonic ‘fanboys’).
Don't believe that old-school rule about conjunctions: it is absolutely fine to start a sentence with one. Great writers have done it for centuries. And still do so for emphasis.
Linking words
Use conjunctions to link 2 words within a sentence
black or white
logins and passwords
Lists
Use before the last item in a serial list but generally not in a vertical one
The statistics include verbal comments, feedback forms and online survey responses.
Conjunctions are also used in short serial lists. You can separate each list item with a comma but use a conjunction before the last item to show it is the end of the list.
This will take skill, time and resources.
This will take skill, time, and resources.
Australian style is to use that conjunction without a comma before the last item on a list. North American style often uses both a comma and a conjunction – known as the serial or Oxford comma.
Serial comma users tend to defend it passionately and insist that leaving it out creates ambiguity. Australia has done without it for decades. So if you are writing in an Australian context, leave it out.
In some cases, the last item in a list already has a conjunction. If so, it is useful to include a comma.
This will take skill, time, and financial and human resources.
Increasingly, we are formatting sentence lists vertically using bullets and line breaks to separate each item. In this case, Australian style is to leave off the conjunction between the second last and last items, but still end with a full stop.
This will take:
- skill
- time
- resources.
In a small number of cases, you may need to clarify that the items are optional rather than cumulative. This is best done in the introductory clause, but if it is crucial you might also add a conjunction for clarity.
To be considered for the role, you must either:
- submit PDF samples of your work, or
- provide a link to your e-portfolio.
Between clauses
Use when connecting dependent and independent clauses
The manager is on leave and has been all week.
The manager was on leave, so I rescheduled the meeting for next week.
An independent clause is one that can stand alone and form its own sentence. A dependent clause must be connected to another clause for it to make sense.
In both cases, conjunctions connect the clauses. For two independent clauses, also add a comma. For a dependent clause, the conjunction alone is enough.
The scope of works does not cover payment schedules or set clear project milestones.
The scope of works does not cover payment schedules or project milestones, but we will add those before issuing it.
At the start of sentences
Use conjunctions sparingly at the start of sentences for emphasis
The payment was late. For the third time.
We already answered that question. But we can do so again.
Perhaps the most controversial debate about conjunctions concerns using them at the start of sentences.
The old-school grammar rule used to be that you cannot start a sentence with a conjunction. This was fair enough at primary school, when you are teaching children how to build more complex sentences.
In the grown-up world, it is perfectly correct to start a sentence with a conjunction, generally to emphasise a point you are making. It won’t be that common. But don’t let anyone tell you it is incorrect.
If you don’t believe us, pick up a book by a published author (particularly fiction) and open up a page at random. Chances are you will find a sentence starting with a conjunction on that page or on one close by.