Page 230 - DENG401_Advance Communication Skills

Unit 13: Correlative Conjunctions

The correlative conjunction in this sentence is "whether ... or." This conjunction links two Notes
phrases.
4. The Grammar teachers are not only intelligent but also friendly.

The correlative conjunction in this sentence is "not only ... but." This conjunction links two
phrases.

Example: Bad Examples
1. The student is not only friendly but also a baker.
This is not correct because friendly is an adjective and baker is a noun. A correlative
conjunction must link similar types of words.
2. The athlete did not know whether to run or walking in order to warm up.
This is not correct because, even though both are verbs, "to run" is the infinitive form and
"walking" is the present participle. A correlative conjunction must link similar types of
words.

The highlighted words in the following sentences are correlative conjunctions:
Both my grandfather and my father worked in the steel plant.
In this sentence, the correlative conjunction "both...and" is used to link the two noun phrases that
act as the compound subject of the sentence: "my grandfather" and "my father".
Bring either a Jello salad or a potato scallop.
Here the correlative conjunction "either...or" links two noun phrases: "a Jell-O salad" and "a
potato scallop."
Corinne is trying to decide whether to go to medical school or to go to law school.
Similarly, the correlative conjunction "whether ... or" links the two infinitive phrases "to go to
medical school" and "to go to law school."
The explosion destroyed not only the school but also the neighboring pub.
In this example the correlative conjunction "not only ... but also" links the two noun phrases ("the
school" and "neighboring pub") which act as direct objects.

Notes Some words which appear as conjunctions can also appear as prepositions or as
adverbs.

Example: Both my sister and I will attend the party.
“my sister” first item
“I” second item

The correlative conjunction “Both” is used to coordinate the item “my sister”, while the
correlative conjunction “and” is used to coordinate the item “I”.

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