Page 73 - DENG103_English - I

English–I

Notes 2. Interjections are used to express pleasure, Sorrow, Surprise etc.

3. Conjunctions are the words used to add two sentences.
4. And, or, but, for, so, are the interjections.

Other Conjunctions
The conjunction NOR is not extinct, but it is not used nearly as often as the other conjunctions,
so it might feel a bit odd when nor does come up in conversation or writing. Its most common
use is as the little brother in the correlative pair, neither-nor
• He is neither sane nor brilliant.

• That is neither what I said nor what I meant.
It can be used with other negative expressions:

• That is not what I meant to say, nor should you interpret my statement as an admission
of guilt.

It is possible to use nor without a preceding negative element, but it is unusual and, to an
extent, rather stuffy:
• George’s handshake is as good as any written contract, nor has he ever proven untrustworthy.

The word YET functions sometimes as an adverb and has several meanings: in addition (“yet
another cause of trouble” or “a simple yet noble woman”), even (“yet more expensive”), still
(“he is yet a novice”), eventually (“they may yet win”), and so soon as now (“he’s not here
yet”). It also functions as a coordinating conjunction meaning something like “nevertheless”
or “but.” The word yet seems to carry an element of distinctiveness that but can seldom register.
• John plays basketball well, yet his favourite sport is badminton.
• The visitors complained loudly about the heat, yet they continued to play golf every day.

In sentences such as the second one, above, the pronoun subject of the second clause (“they,”
in this case) is often left out. When that happens, the comma preceding the conjunction might
also disappear: “The visitors complained loudly yet continued to play golf every day.”
Yet is sometimes combined with other conjunctions, but or and. It would not be unusual to
see and yet in sentences like the ones above. This usage is acceptable.

Did u know? The word FOR is most often used as a preposition, of course, but it does
serve, on rare occasions, as a coordinating conjunction.

Some people regard the conjunction for as rather highfalutin and literary, and it does tend to
add a bit of weightiness to the text. Beginning a sentence with the conjunction “for” is probably
not a good idea, except when you’re singing “For he’s a jolly good fellow. “For” has serious
sequential implications and in its use the order of thoughts is more important than it is, say,
with because or since. Its function is to introduce the reason for the preceding clause:
• John thought he had a good chance to get the job, for his father was on the company’s
board of trustees.
• Most of the visitors were happy just sitting around in the shade, for it had been a long,
dusty journey on the train.

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