SMA XAVERIUS 1 Correlative conjunctions

PALEMBANG (Double Conjunctions)

1.What are they?

2.Why do we learn about these?
3.What are they used for?
4.Examples
5.Considerations

ENGLISH LANGUAGE
AND CULTURE

St. Andreas Widyohantoro, S.Pd.

 SMA XAVERIUS 1
PALEMBANG What are they?
neither/nor, 
either/or, 
both/and, . . .
but . . . also.
etc
ENGLISH LANGUAGE
AND CULTURE

St. Andreas Widyohantoro, S.Pd.

 SMA XAVERIUS 1
PALEMBANG Why do we learn about these?
In our daily life it is redundant when we have to express many
different sentences but they have similar even more the same meaning.
So these conjunctions can be used to minimize the redundancy
because of useless repetition.

Example
My father likes reading newspaper in the morning.
He likes drinking warm sweet tea.

ENGLISH LANGUAGE
AND CULTURE

St. Andreas Widyohantoro, S.Pd.

 What are they used for?
SMA XAVERIUS 1
PALEMBANG

These conjunctions connect two balanced

clauses, phrases, or words.

The two elements that correlative

conjunctions connect are usually similar in
length and grammatical structure.

They express a meaning relation (cause, result, addition etc.) between the
statements containing the linked verbs. They can always be positioned
ENGLISH LANGUAGE between the two statements, and in many cases they can alternatively go
AND CULTURE before

St. Andreas Widyohantoro, S.Pd.

 SMA XAVERIUS 1
PALEMBANG Examples
either . . . or  neither . . . nor 

both . . . and  whether . . . or

not only . . . but also no sooner . . . than

.
not . . . but as… as… 

ENGLISH LANGUAGE
AND CULTURE

St. Andreas Widyohantoro, S.Pd.

 SMA XAVERIUS 1
PALEMBANG Examples
1.either . . . or 
We can go to either Greece or Spain for our holiday.
It’s my final offer – you can either take it or leave it.

ENGLISH LANGUAGE
AND CULTURE

St. Andreas Widyohantoro, S.Pd.

 SMA XAVERIUS 1
PALEMBANG Examples
both . . . and 
Both rugby and football are popular in France.
Both English and Welsh are spoken in Wales.

ENGLISH LANGUAGE
AND CULTURE

St. Andreas Widyohantoro, S.Pd.

 SMA XAVERIUS 1
PALEMBANG Examples
not only . . . but also
Not only is he a professional footballer, but he’s also a successful businessman.

ENGLISH LANGUAGE
AND CULTURE

St. Andreas Widyohantoro, S.Pd.

 SMA XAVERIUS 1
PALEMBANG Examples

neither . . . nor 
Neither Norway nor Switzerland is in the European Union.
Marriage is neither heaven nor hell, it is simply purgatory. (Abraham Lincoln)

ENGLISH LANGUAGE
AND CULTURE

St. Andreas Widyohantoro, S.Pd.

 whether . . . or

SMA XAVERIUS 1 Whether you love them or hate them, you have to admit that the Rolling Stones are very popular.
I’m totally confused – I don’t know whether I’m coming or going.

PALEMBANG Examples

ENGLISH LANGUAGE
AND CULTURE

St. Andreas Widyohantoro, S.Pd.

 SMA XAVERIUS 1
PALEMBANG Examples
no sooner . . . than
No sooner had I finished watering the garden than it started raining.

ENGLISH LANGUAGE
AND CULTURE

St. Andreas Widyohantoro, S.Pd.

 SMA XAVERIUS 1
PALEMBANG Examples

as… as… 
Bowling isn't as fun as skeet shooting

ENGLISH LANGUAGE
AND CULTURE

St. Andreas Widyohantoro, S.Pd.

 SMA XAVERIUS 1
PALEMBANG Considerations
Be Careful When Using Correlative Conjunctions
Correlative conjunctions must be used mindfully. In that sense, they are like semicolons—they should only be used in order to balance a
sentence. They should not be used with ideas that are disparate or unequal.

Verb Agreement
What is verb agreement? As will all clauses, it is important to maintain verb agreement when using correlative conjunctions.
If a coordinating conjunction is used to connect subjects, the verb must agree with the second subject regardless of the first subject. (However,
the subjects themselves must be balanced and related.)
Subject-verb agreement
Watch out – when using either or neither the verb agrees with the second subject, NOT the first:
Examples:
Either my brother or my mum look / looks after our cat when we’re away on holiday.
Either my brother or my parents looks / look after our cat when we’re away on holiday.
Neither the manager nor his assistant are / is here today.
Neither the manager nor his assistants is / are here today.

Pronoun Agreement
What is pronoun agreement? When using a correlative conjunction that has two antecedents before it, the correlative conjunction must agree
with the second antecedent.
It is important to maintain pronoun-antecedent agreement when using correlative conjunctions.

Examples:
Neither the teacher nor the students like their new textbooks.
This sentence has two antecedents: the teacher and the students. The second antecedent, students, is the antecedent that must agree with the
pronoun. Therefore, the sentence uses “their” and not “his” or “her.”

Neither the students nor the teacher likes her new textbooks.
This sentence has two antecedents: the students and the teacher. The second antecedent, teacher, is the antecedent that must agree with the
pronoun. Therefore, the sentence uses “her” and not “their.”

ENGLISH LANGUAGE Parallel Structure

examples of correlative conjunctions sentences What is parallel structure? Correlative conjunctions call for parallel structure. Parallel structure
must be used in order to create balanced sentences. The parts of the sentence that follow the conjunction must be grammatically equal.

AND CULTURE Examples:

Not only did Jerry bake a cake, but he also prepared a pie.
Jerry not only baked a cake but he also prepared a pie.
These sentence have two clauses. Each clause is balanced with word order and structure.

Do Not Create a Double Negative with Neither Nor

Using the correlative conjunctions neither and nor have the same rules as using either and or.

Neither and nor are simply a negative form of either and or. Since neither and nor are themselves negative constructions, it is important to not

St. Andreas Widyohantoro, S.Pd.

create a double negative when using them.

To make sure you are not using a double negative, simply substitute either/or. If either/or substitutes and no other changes need to be made
 SMA XAVERIUS 1
PALEMBANG Considerations
Be Careful When Using Correlative Conjunctions
Correlative conjunctions must be used mindfully. In that sense, they are like semicolons—they
should only be used in order to balance a sentence. They should not be used with ideas that are
disparate or unequal.

Verb Agreement

Pronoun Agreement

Parallel Structure

Do Not Create a Double Negative with Neither Nor

Correct example:
Neither my friends nor my parents will join me at the movies.
ENGLISH LANGUAGE With either/or substitution: Either my friends or my parents will join me at the movies.

AND CULTURE Incorrect example creating double negative:

Neither my friends nor my parents will not join me at the movies.
The meaning of this sentence is actually that my friends or my parents will join me, which is not
what the speaker is trying to say.
St. Andreas Widyohantoro, S.Pd.
 SMA XAVERIUS 1
PALEMBANG Summary

ENGLISH LANGUAGE
AND CULTURE

St. Andreas Widyohantoro, S.Pd.