40. Conjunctions versus Connectors

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Conjunctions and connectors express similar meanings but follow different rules of grammar and punctuation

DEFINING FEATURES OF CONJUNCTIONS AND CONNECTORS

Conjunctions and connectors both feature in other parts of this blog, but their importance in professional writing and the confusions they cause make it useful to compare them more directly.

One cause of confusion is surely that their names are both suggestive of the same thing – a “linking” or “joining” role – without giving a clue to any difference. Another is probably the existence of alternative names, such as “logical connectors” (for connectors) and “connectives” or “linkers” (for conjunctions and connectors together).

It does not help either that even the idea of “linking” is ambiguous: various other grammatical categories can be thought of as linking devices too. Relative pronouns “link” ordinary statements together in the same sentence (see 37. Subordination). Prepositions may “link” a noun idea onto the rest of a sentence. Verbs often “link” their subject with either an object or a complement.

What distinguishes conjunctions and connectors from other linking expressions is that they show a meaning link between two verb-containing statements. What separates conjunctions and connectors from each other is the grammatical status of the two linked statements: conjunction ones are together in the same sentence, connector ones are separate:

(a) CONJUNCTION: Mount Kilimanjaro is on the Equator, but it has a covering of snow.

(b) CONNECTOR : Mount Kilimanjaro is on the Equator. Nevertheless, it has a covering of snow

In (a), the conjunction but is “linking” in two different ways. Firstly, it physically links the two verbs is and has into the same sentence – separate verbs must normally be in separate sentences (see 30. When to Write a Full Stop). Secondly but makes a mental link, suggesting that what follows is surprising after the statement before. Linguists would call physical linking “syntactic” and the mental kind “semantic”.

In sentence (b), on the other hand, the connector nevertheless does only one kind of linking: mental / semantic (in this case the same mental link that but shows). There is no physical linking: the connector is in a new sentence. It could not have just a comma before (see 250. Synonym Pairs with Contrasting Grammar, #6). However, it could be left out without causing a grammar error. 

The lack of physical linking by connectors is hardly surprising: they are very similar to – or even a subtype of – adverbs, most of which are not linking in any way at all (see 121. Sentence-Spanning Adverbs). The fact that connectors show only a meaning link is probably the reason why some people call them “logical” connectors.

A slightly confusing complication is that sometimes a conjunction and connector are used together. For example, in (b) above it would be possible to say but nevertheless, with a comma instead of a full stop before. However, the essential difference between conjunctions and connectors remains the same: the conjunction (but) is doing the physical linking (making the comma possible), while the connector is adding its mental meaning to that of the conjunction – making it stronger. In other words, combinations like but nevertheless are emphatic conjunctions. They can only be made with a few conjunction-connector pairs: for other examples, see 125. Stress and Emphasis.

Knowing these points is, of course, not enough to ensure that connectors and conjunctions are used correctly; one must also know which words (or phrases) make conjunctions and which make connectors. Unfortunately, there is no obvious means of achieving this: you just have to remember which expressions are which. The meaning is no guide because, as shown above, both types of expression can have the same meaning.

In this blog, there are various posts that extensively illustrate connectors, including 20. Problem Connectors,  112. Synonyms of Connectors, and 259. Multi-Word Connectors. There is also something in 138. Grammar Command Test 1 and 214. Grammar Command Test 2.

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OTHER DIFFERENCES BETWEEN CONJUNCTIONS AND CONNECTORS

The main other differences concern punctuation and sentence positions. They are:

(i) A conjunction does not usually have a following comma but a connector does (see 50. Right & Wrong Comma Places).

(ii) A conjunction usually comes before the subject of its verb, but a connector quite often comes later. In sentence (b), nevertheless can be placed after any of the other main words in its sentence.

(iii) Most conjunctions may go either before or between the two verbs that they join (see 25. Conjunction Positioning and 64. Double Conjunctions), but connectors must go between them. In sentence (a) above, but is actually one of the exceptional conjunctions that cannot go before the two verbs, just like a connector. The conjunction although is more typical:

(c) Although chickens have wings, they cannot fly.

(d) Chickens cannot fly although they have wings.

For more about conjunctions like but (called “coordinating”) and conjunctions like although (called “subordinating”), see 174. Eight Things to Know about Conjunctions, #3.

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MEANINGS OF CONJUNCTIONS AND CONNECTORS

In the above examples, the mental link, or meaning, of the conjunctions and the connector was the same: the surprising nature of the statement made with the second verb. This meaning is one of very many that different conjunctions and connectors express. Some are described elsewhere in this blog (see the posts listed above at the end of the first section), and a comprehensive list can be found in the book Cambridge Grammar of English. Further examples are as follows:

(e) CONJUNCTION: After evening falls, mosquitoes become active.

(f) CONNECTOR     : Evening falls. Then/Afterwards mosquitoes become active.

The mental link here is that the event expressed by the second verb has a later time than the event expressed by the first verb (see 227. Time Adverbs).

(g) CONJUNCTION: If it rains, the visit will be cancelled.

If it rains …

(h) CONNECTOR    : It might rain. In that case the visit will be cancelled.

In each of these, the first verb helps to show a hypothetical future event and the second one indicates a consequence of that (see 118. Problems with Conditional “if”).

Two points can be made about the variety of meanings that are possible with conjunctions and connectors. Firstly, most conjunctions seem to have many connectors of similar meaning. Here are some more examples:
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Lists of Connectors Corresponding to Individual Conjunctions

AND

additionally, also, as well (not first word), besides this, furthermore, in addition, moreover, too (not first word); afterwards, next, subsequently, then, thereafter; as a result. For more on some of these, see 122. Signpost Words in Multi-Sentence Lists,  167. Ways of Arguing 1 and 210. Process Descriptions.

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BUT

all the same, even so, however, nevertheless, nonetheless, still, yet (for a special use of these, see 51. Making Concessions with “May”);  by contrast, in contrast, on the other hand (see 216. Indicating Differences);  on the contrary (see 20. Problem Connectors, #1).

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SO, SO THAT (also BECAUSE/SINCE at the start)

as a result, consequently, for this reason, hence, that is why, therefore, thus (see 32. Expressing Consequences and 20. Problem Connectors, #4/5).

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(JUST) AS

similarly, likewise, in a similar way, in the same way (see the very end of 149. Saying How Things are Similar).

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OR

alternatively, if not, otherwise, then again (see 266. Indicating Alternatives); in other words, that is to say (see 286. Repeating in Different Words, #6).

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BECAUSE/SINCE (between the linked verbs)

this is because, the reason is that

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BEFORE (before the linked verbs)

beforehand, before this, first (see 171. Aspects of the Past Perfect Tense and 227. Time Adverbs)

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BEFORE (between the linked verbs)

afterwards, next, subsequently, then, thereafter

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WHILE

all the while, at this time, at the same time, at that moment, concurrently, during this time, in the process, meanwhile, simultaneously (see 225. Simultaneous Occurrence).

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The reason why there are many connectors for each conjunction is probably that conjunctions have many different meanings (like most small words – see 3. Multi-Use Words), while connectors tend to have just one. For example, but can express either “contrast” or “concession” (see 20. Problem Connectors, #3); and can express not only addition but also result (see 32. Expressing Consequences); and if can show different types of condition (see 179. Deeper Meanings of “if”).

The second point to be made about the meaning variety of conjunctions and connectors is that overall connectors express more meanings than conjunctions. This is indicated by the existence of connectors with no corresponding conjunction at all, such as for example, for instance, in other words, in particular, in fact, indeed, instead, in short, at least and at last.

The first three of these also have a preposition-like use (with a comma before them rather than after), but no conjunction one (see 226. Words with Complicated Grammar 2, #4). For advice on using at last, see 20. Problem Connectors, #7. Note also that, despite the variety of connectors, English seems to lack one for one particular inter-sentence meaning: see 117. Restating Generalizations More Precisely.

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CHOOSING BETWEEN A CONJUNCTION AND A CONNECTOR

There seem to be a number of possible reasons for choosing between a conjunction and a connector. Firstly, conjunctions but not connectors can suggest that the information after them is not the writer’s central point. In sentence (e) above, for example, evening falls after the starting conjunction after is suggested to be a less central message than mosquitoes become active (see 37. Subordination). In (f), on the other hand, the connector afterwards highlights both messages equally. For more on message importance, see 156. Mentioning What the Reader Knows Already.

A second possible reason for choosing between a conjunction and a connector could be the degree of separateness that we might wish to give to the two joined verbs. Putting them into the same sentence with a conjunction suggests that they are somehow part of the same idea, while putting them into two different sentences suggests that they are two different points (this kind of choice is widespread in writing – see 59. Paragraph Length for an illustration of how the same applies in paragraph design). Compare these examples:

(i) Cars are dangerous and they pollute.

(j) Cars are dangerous. Moreover, they pollute.

Sentence (i) seems to be saying one thing by means of two points, that cars are bad; while (j) appears to be emphasising that there are two separate disadvantages.

A third possible reason for choosing to say something in a new sentence by means of a connector could be the fact that connectors tend to have a more precise meaning than conjunctions. Being precise is especially important in academic and professional writing, and that might explain why connectors are especially common in those fields. Note, though, that connectors are not the only means of paraphrasing a conjunction: verbs can be used too (see 131. Uses of “Action” Nouns, #1) and so can prepositions (see 205. Paraphrasable Prepositions).

Fourthly, sentence length may explain a preference for a conjunction or connector. Conjunctions can prevent there being too many short sentences in a text (see 210. Process Descriptions, #3). Conversely, connectors can help break up over-long sentences into shorter ones.