ENG 156 English Writing and Reading Skills

Lesson 08 – Using Conjunctions

Warm-up Activity: Pair up the students. Each pair must go through the paragraph below and try
to find what is wrong with the underlined words. Ask them what words can be used to make the
paragraph meaningful in place of the underlined words.
Miheli and Dinithi are students learning at the SIBA Campus. They always come on their
bicycles to the campus, so today it was raining hard, but they had to take the bus. They
waited for a bus in the morning because luckily the bus was not very crowded. The bus
always goes on the main street, and today that street was closed for construction. The
conductor told the passengers that they could walk the rest of the way, but take the long
route. Dinithi and Miheli were already late for the morning lecture or they decided to
walk. When they finally arrived at the campus, it was late, because they walked
worriedly to the class, or they knew
the lecturer must be already inside.
They heard their lecturer’s voice
because they were afraid to go
inside. Finally, the lecturer saw
them, but said “Both of you, come
inside now, and I will make you stand outside for the rest of the day!”
Conjunctions are words that connect one
complete sentence to another sentence. They can add interest to what you write.

and adds information, or one thing to another.

Lee is listening to music. Lee is writing notes in her
book.
Lee is listening to music, and (Lee is) writing notes in
her book..

but contradicts, or shows something

unexpected.
The teacher is writing on the board. Some students are
not paying attention.
The teacher is writing on the board, but some students
are not paying attention.

or offers a choice
I will go camping. I will read my
favourite book.
I will go camping, or (I will) read my
favourite book.

so shows a result.
It was her birthday. Her friends planned a party.
It was her birthday, so her friends planned a party.

Remember, when using these conjunctions to join two complete sentences

you must insert a comma before the conjunction.
Activity 01: Use and, but, or, so to combine and make meaningful sentences out of the
following.
The film was not good.
It was a nice sunny day.
People had to grow their own food.
I had fever and a cough.
The country was locked down for 03
She also likes to watch football matches.
months.
Ananda went to watch a movie. There were many people in the park.
Gayan is in the playground .
People are careless about health rules. I didn't want to go to hospital.
We live in Kandy.
Jamila likes to play cricket. He is waiting for his friends.

It is a nice place to live.

Many people are dying from Covid-19.

Some conjunctions are used to show cause and effect.

Because he had a toothache.

The sentence beginning with because indicates a reason.

Let’s add another sentence to complete the idea.

Rohit went to the dentist. Because he had a toothache.

Effect/Result. Cause/Reason
Rohit went to the dentist because he had a toothache.
Activity 03. Read the following paragraph. Use the conjunctions you have learnt to make it
sound better and rewrite the paragraph.
I went home. My mother was not there. I looked for her. I could not find her. On the table, I
saw a note. It read; “My dear son, Grandmother fell ill. I took her to hospital. You can wait
till I come. You can order some food. I will be back soon! ”
She had not left any money. I couldn’t order food. I was so hungry. I looked through the
kitchen. There was nothing to eat. I started to cook. I was struggling. I kept trying. I worked
hard. I prepared a delicious meal. Soon mother arrived. She saw the meal I prepared. She
tasted it. She smiled. I felt great that day. I could help her on such a difficult day!