First Grammar Lessons: Part IV, Lesson XIV

Lesson XIV

Henry called his sister.
He asked her to go out.
She said she could not.
She must do her lessons.

Here are four single sentences that would read much better if they were joined together.

Henry called his sister, and asked her to go out, but he said she could not, because she must do her lessons.

These words that join sentences together are called conjunctions, which word means to join together.

By the help of conjunctions we may often turn several sentences into one, and so save many words.

You remember that we turned several predicates into one, by the help of the conjunction and.

The same thing may happen with subjects.

We may say:

John played.
Ann played.
Kate played.
Henry played.
George played.

These five sentences may be turned into one:

John, Ann, Kate, Henry and George played.

Name-words joined by and in this way are in the same case.

To be learned.

Conjunctions join sentences.

Exercise XIV

1. Put the following sentences into one by the use of conjunctions, for example:

The dog barked (because)
He heard his master’s voice (but)
He was not unchained (and)
He retired into his kennel.

2. Make sentences saying what you and your sisters (or friends) were doing this morning, joining all the name-words to make one subject.

3. Point out the conjunctions on a page of a reading book.