Conjunctions

ENGLISH

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Conjunctions
In banking examinations, the English language includes three important sections which
are Grammar, Vocabulary and Reading Comprehension. The topic of conjunctions
comes under the grammar section, and is asked in Banking exams to test your English
language skills.

In this pdf, we will be helping out with the different variations in the topic “Conjunction”
so that you get to know all the types of questions which can be asked in Banking
exams.

Conjunctions are words that link other words, phrases, or clauses together.

• Example: and, either-or, as well as, etc.

 Ravi and Farhan are brothers.

 Either Ravi or Raju will go.

Make sure that the phrases joined by conjunctions share the same structure.

• Example:

 He worked quickly and calmly. (correct)

 He worked quickly and calm. (Incorrect)

Types of Conjunctions
• There are three types of Conjunctions:

 Correlative conjunctions

 Coordinating conjunctions

 Subordinating conjunctions.

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Correlative Conjunctions
• Correlative conjunctions are pairs of conjunctions that work together.

 Neither – nor

 Either – or

 Not only – but also

 Both – and

 Whether – or

 Such – that

 Scarcely – when

 No sooner - than

Example:

1. Farhan, neither played hockey nor chess when he was in school.

2. I will eat either a mango or an apple.

3. Indian food is not only beautiful to look at but also delicious to eat.

Coordinating Conjunctions
• Coordinating conjunctions allow you to join words, phrases, and clauses of equal
grammatical rank in a sentence. When they are used to connect two independent
clauses together, they should be accompanied by a comma, which comes before
the coordinating conjunction.

• The most common coordinating conjunctions are for, and, nor, but, or, yet, and so;
you can remember them by using the mnemonic FANBOYS.

Example:

1. Which do you prefer? Red or blue?

2. The meal was very expensive but not very nice.

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Subordinating conjunctions
• A subordinating conjunction is a word that connects a main clause to a subordinate
clause.

• Some subordinating conjunctions: after, although, as, as if, as long as, as much as,
as soon as, as though, because, before, by the time, even if, even though, if, in
order that, in case, in the event that, lest, now that, once, only, only if, provided that,
since, so, supposing, that, than, though, till, unless, until, when, whenever, where,
whereas, wherever, whether or not, while

• Example: The book that I was reading is good.

If you are not a regular reader of English, you can

master yourself in this section by simply learning
these common rules

Rule #1:
If two subjects are joined by either -or, neither-nor, the verb agrees with the
subject that is near.

For example: -

 Neither Delhi nor Tokyo is in Russia.

 Either me or your friends are going.

Rule #2:
‘One of’ always takes a plural noun after it.

For example: -

 One of your classmates is from Assam.

 One of the students was selected to visit ISRO.

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Rule #3:
‘Unless’ shows a condition. It’s always used in a negative sense. Thus ‘NOT’ is
never used with unless.

For example: -

 Unless you finish these lessons, can you be sure to speak English correctly?

 Unless you work hard you will not pass.

Rule #4:
‘Lest’ must be followed by should or first form of verb. It is a negative word.

For example:

 Don’t eat too much, lest you will get fat.

 I feared lest I should be late again.

Rule #5:
Always use seldom or never. Seldom or ever is incorrect.

For example:

 She seldom or never scolds her children.

 He seldom or never plays.

Rule #6:
‘Until’ expresses time. It has a negative sense and thus ‘not’ should never be
used with it.

For example:

 Run until you reach your goal.

 Wait here until I return.

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Rule #7:
When ‘as well as’, ‘along with’, ‘together with’, ‘No less than’, ‘In addition to’ and
‘Not’ and ‘with’ join two subjects, the verb will be according to the first subject.

For example:

 Ram, as well as his ten friends, is going.

 My mother, along with her cousins, is going to Goa.

Rule #8:
‘A great many’ is always followed by a plural noun and a plural verb.

For example:

 I’ve known her for a great many years.

 Mangoes come in a great many varieties.

Rule #9:
‘Scarcely’ and ‘Hardly’ are followed by ‘WHEN’.

For example:

 Scarcely had he asked the question when Reema slapped him.

 Hardly had I arrived home when my phone rang.

Rule #10:
‘Though’ is followed by ‘yet’ or ‘comma’ and not by ‘but’.

For example:

 Though he worked hard, he failed.

Rule #11:
Although is followed by yet or a comma (,) not by but.

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For example:

 Although he was bad with calligraphy yet he tried his best to win the contest.

Rule #12:
The conjunction so - as is used to make comparison between two persons and
things. It is used in negative sentences.

For example:

 Ravan is not so good as Ram.

 Geometry is not so difficult as algebra.

Rule #13:
The conjunction as - as is used to make comparison between two persons and
things. It is used in both negative sentences and affirmative sentences.

For example:

 Seeta is as good as Ram.

 Geometry is as difficult as algebra.

Rule #14:
The conjunction both is followed by and

For example:

 He both likes and recommends the drama.

 Both the movie and the play were good.

Rule #15:
Between is followed by and.

For example:

 Choose between ice-cream and chocolate.

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Rule #16:
From is followed by to.

For example:

 We faced problems from January to December.

Rule #17:
Some subordinating conjunctions may be modified by adverbs (underlined). For
example, just when, ever since, only if, just as, simply because, right before:

For example:

 The phone rang just when I’d gone to bed.

 I have been afraid to swim in the sea ever since I was young

Let’s Practice!
Question 1:-

Directions. For the following sentence, five options have been given. One of
them is incorrect. Choose the INCORRECT option from the given options. Ignore
the error of punctuation, if any.

Everyone is worried about Matt /(A) for nobody has seen him in /(B) school or the cafe
ever where the disappearance/ (C) of his sister Tina last month. (D)

1) A

2) B

3) C

4) D

5) No improvement

TB Solution:
The correct answer is Option 3) i.e., C.

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Key Points
Option 3 is incorrect because of the wrong usage of ‘where’ in Part C of the sentence.

The subordinating conjunction ‘where’ is used to mean whereas and the subordinating
conjunction ‘since’ is used to mean from the time of occurrence of the event.

Let’s see a few examples-

 He lost all fun of life since the death of his younger brother.

 He lost all fun of life where the death of his younger brother.

 Where some people eat rice with curd, others prefer it with daal and fish.

 Since some people eat rice with curd, others prefer it with daal and fish.

Hence, ‘where’ should be replaced by ‘since’ to make the sentence correct.

So, the correct sentence is: “Everyone is worried about Matt for nobody has seen him
in school or the cafe ever since the disappearance of his sister Tina last month.”

Additional Information
• A subordinating conjunction connects a dependent clause with an independent
clause.

• For example - 'after', 'because', 'when', 'unless', 'because', 'as', 'although', 'than',
etc.

Question 2:-

Directions. For the following sentence, five options have been given. One of
them is incorrect. Choose the INCORRECT option from the given options. Ignore
the error of punctuation, if any.

Because he stayed /(A) the entire night in the hospital /(B) taking care of his ailing
grandfather, /(C) therefore, we brought his lunch here. (D)

1) A

2) B

3) C

4) D

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5) All are incorrect

TB Solution: The correct answer is Option 4) i.e., D.

Key Points
Option 4 is incorrect because of the wrong usage of ‘therefore’ in Part D of the
sentence.

‘Because’ is a subordinating conjunction and ‘therefore’ is not used with ‘because’.

Let’s see an example-

 Because the sky was cloudy, I had to carry the umbrella.

 Because the sky was cloudy, therefore, I had to carry an umbrella.

Hence, ‘therefore’ should be removed to make the sentence correct.

So, the correct sentence is: “Because he stayed the entire night in the hospital taking
care of his ailing grandfather, we brought his lunch here.”

Additional Information
• A subordinating conjunction connects a dependent clause with an independent
clause.

• For example- 'after', 'because', 'when', 'unless', 'because', 'as', 'although', 'than', etc.

Question 3:-

Directions. For the following sentence, five options have been given. One of
them is incorrect. Choose the INCORRECT option from the given options. Ignore
the error of punctuation, if any.

He is a man of many talents - he /(B) loves not only to eat Chinese /(B) but also cooked
Continental very well /(C) and has won many cooking competitions in the West. (D)

1) A

2) B

3) C

4) D

5) All are incorrect

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The correct answer is Option 3) i.e., C

Key Points
Option 3 is incorrect because of the wrong usage of ‘cooked’ in Part C of the
sentence.

It is important to remember that when correlative conjunctions such as ‘either…or’,

‘neither…nor’, ‘not only…but also’, ‘both…and’, ‘whether…or’, etc. are used to join parts
of sentences or clauses, parallel structure is followed.

In the given sentence, after the correlative conjunction ‘not only’ Infinitive ‘to eat’ is used
whereas, after ‘but also’ Past Tense ‘cooked’ is used.

The usage of ‘cooked’ instead of ‘to cook’ disrupts the flow of the sentence.

Let’s see an example-

 Ana knows not only to cook continental but also to bake walnut cakes.

 Ana knows not only to cook continental but also baked walnut cakes.

Hence, ‘cooked’ should be replaced by ‘to cook’ to make the sentence correct.

So, the correct sentence is: “He is a man of many talents - he loves not only to eat
Chinese but also to cook Continental very well and has won many cooking
competitions in the West.”

Additional Information
• Parallelism refers to the repetition of a particular grammatical form in a sentence to
keep the grammatical flow intact.

• When we use gerunds, prepositions, infinitives, coordinating conjunctions or

correlative conjunctions, etc., in a sentence, we must use them consistently to
maintain the grammatical flow undisturbed.

• For example-

 Neither can he avoid this discussion, nor can he give in to the pressure- his
situation ­is challenging.

 Neither can he avoid this discussion, nor he would give in to the pressure-
his situation is challenging.

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• Correlative conjunctions are conjunctions that are used in pairs.

 For example- 'either-or', 'neither-nor', 'both-and', 'whether-or', 'not only-but

also', etc.
Question 4:-

Directions. For the following sentence, five options have been given. One of
them is incorrect. Choose the INCORRECT option from the given options. Ignore
the error of punctuation, if any.

He checked his phone, /(A) found the 'important' mail, /(B) decoding the message from
the mail, /(C) and forwarded it to the police squad. (D)

1) A

2) B

3) C

4) D

5) All are incorrect

TB Solution: The correct answer is Option 3) i.e., C.

Key Points
• Option 3 is incorrect because of the wrong usage of ‘decoding’ in Part C of the
sentence.

• It is important to remember that when co-ordinating conjunctions such as ‘and’, ‘but’,

‘so’, ‘or’, ‘yet’, etc. are used to join parts of sentences or clauses, parallel structure is
followed.

• In the given sentence, all the verbs except ‘decoding’ are used in the Past Tense.

• The usage of ‘decoding’ instead of ‘decoded’ disrupts the flow of the sentence.

• Let’s see an example-

 He went to the kitchen, gathered the ingredients, switched on the gas, and
searched for the recipe book in the cabinets.

 He went to the kitchen, gathered the ingredients, switching on the gas, and
searched for the recipe book in the cabinets.

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• Hence, ‘decoding’ should be replaced by ‘decoded’ to make the sentence correct.

• So, the correct sentence is: ““He checked his phone, found the 'important' mail,
decoded the message from the mail, and forwarded it to the police squad.”

Additional Information
• Parallelism refers to the repetition of a particular grammatical form in a sentence to
keep the grammatical flow intact.

• When we use gerunds, prepositions, infinitives, coordinating conjunctions or

correlative conjunctions, etc., in a sentence, we must use them consistently to
maintain the grammatical flow undisturbed.

• For example-

 Ana knows not only to cook continental but also to bake walnut cakes.

 Ana knows not only to cook continental but also baked walnut cakes.

• A coordinating conjunction joins two independent statements or clauses of similar

rank or grammatical construction.

 For example- 'and', 'but', 'or', 'nor', etc.

[Link]:-

Directions. For the following sentence, five options have been given. One of
them is incorrect. Choose the INCORRECT option from the given options. Ignore
the error of punctuation, if any.

Either he sits for the exam, /(A) which happens next week, or he will be losing /(B) this
year's ticket to his dream job /(C) - he has to decide soon and act immediately. (D)

1) A

2) B

3) C

4) D

5) All are incorrect

TB Solution: The correct answer is Option 2) i.e., B.

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Key Point
• Option 2 is incorrect because of the wrong usage of ‘will be losing’ in Part B of the
sentence.

• It is important to remember that when correlative conjunctions such as ‘either…or’,

‘neither…nor’, ‘not only…but also’, ‘both…and’, ‘whether…or’, etc. are used to join
parts of sentences or clauses, parallel structure is followed.

• In the given sentence, after ‘either’ Simple Present Tense ‘sits’ is used whereas,
after ‘or’ Future Continuous Tense ‘will be losing’ is used.

• The usage of ‘will be losing’ instead of ‘loses’ disrupts the flow of the sentence.

• Let’s see an example-

 Neither can he avoid this discussion, nor can he give in to the pressure
- his situation is challenging.

 Neither can he avoid this discussion, nor he would give in to the

pressure- his situation is challenging.

• Hence, ‘will be losing’ should be replaced by ‘loses’ to make the sentence correct.

So, the correct sentence is: “Either he sits for the exam, which happens next week, or
he loses this year's ticket to his dream job - he has to decide soon and act
immediately.”

Additional Information
• Parallelism refers to the repetition of a particular grammatical form in a sentence to
keep the grammatical flow intact.

• When we use gerunds, prepositions, infinitives, coordinating conjunctions or

correlative conjunctions, etc., in a sentence, we must use them consistently to
maintain the grammatical flow undisturbed.

• For example-

 Ana knows not only to cook continental but also to bake walnut cakes.

 Ana knows not only to cook continental but also baked walnut cakes.

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• Co-relative conjunctions are conjunctions that are used in pairs.

 For example- 'either-or', 'neither-nor', 'both-and', 'whether-or', 'not only-but

also', etc.

Question6: -

Directions: Fill in the blanks in the following sentences with the help of options
that follow

I don't hate Jim. ______, I'm rather fond of him.

1) Contrary to

2) Nonetheless

3) Notwithstanding

4) On the contrary

5) However

TB Solution: The correct answer is Option 4) i.e. On the contrary.

Explanation:
• Let's have a look at the meanings of the conjunctions:

 contrary to- opposite in nature, direction, or meaning.

 nonetheless- in spite of that; nevertheless.

 notwithstanding- although; in spite of the fact that.

 on the contrary- used to intensify a denial of what has just been implied
or stated by suggesting that the opposite is the case.

• The given sentence tries to convey that the subject doesn't hate Jim as opposed
to the opinion.

• Thus in the given sentence, a denial of what is implied is expressed. Thus the best
option here is on the contrary.

• According to the explanation above, on the contrary' will be used in the blank part
of the sentence.

Correct Sentence: I don't hate Jim. On the contrary, I'm rather fond of him.

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Question 7: -

Directions: Fill in the blanks in the following sentences with the help of options
that follow.

I've asked you a thousand times not to leave your dirty socks on the floor. ______, you
keep doing it.

1) Although

2) But

3) often

4) still

5) Though

TB Solution: The correct answer is Option 2) i.e. But.

Explanation:
• Let's have a look at the meanings of the conjunctions:

 but- used to introduce a phrase or clause contrasting with what has already
been mentioned.

 often- a lot or many times; frequently.

 still- nevertheless; all the same.

 though/Although- despite the fact that; although.

• The given sentence tries to convey that the subject does something despite being
repeatedly told not to do.

• According to the explanation above, 'but' will be used in the blank part of the
sentence.

Correct Sentence: I've asked you a thousand times not to leave your dirty socks on
the floor. But, you keep doing it.

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Question 8: -

In the following question, out of the four alternatives, select the alternative which
will improve the underlined part of the sentence. In case no improvement is
needed, select “No improvement”.

Although he has two big eyes but he can't see these types of bigger things even in the
light of the day.

1) big eyes yet he can't

2) big eyes still he can't

3) big eyes even though he can't

4) big eyes and he can't

5) No improvement

TB Solution: The correct answer is 'big eyes yet he can't' .

Key Points

Although/Though yet/but

• Whenever 'although /though' are used in a sentence, we will not use 'but' instead,
we will use 'yet'

• For example :

 Although/though he is well off yet he is greedy

 Although/though he worked hard yet he did not succeed.

• So the correct sentence is- " Although he has two big eyes yet he can't see these
types of bigger even in the light of the day. "

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Question 9: -

In the following question, out of the four alternatives, select the alternative which
will improve the underlined part of the sentence. In case no improvement is
needed, select “No improvement”.

You won't be able to get a ticket for the match unless you are not prepared to pay a lot
of money for it.

1) unless if you are

2) unless you are

3) unless, if you are not

4) if you are

5) No improvement

TB Solution: The correct answer is 'Unless you are' .

Key Points
• The clause/part of the sentence containing 'Unless/until' is never followed by 'not' as
it makes the sentence superfluous

• For example :

 Unless you don't go there, he will not come.

 Unless you go there, he will not come.

• The helping verb 'are' will be used as the subject i.e. 'you' is 2nd person singular.

• Also, we don't use 'unless' when we mean 'if'

• For example :

 Pete will drive unless Alex can't.

 Pete will drive if Alex can't.

• Of the given options, the 2nd option i.e. 'unless you are' is the most appropriate
choice.

• Correct sentence is- "You won't be able to get a ticket for the match unless you are
prepared to pay a lot of money for it."

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Question 10: -

A sentence/a part of the sentence is underlined. Five alternatives are given to the
underlined part which will improve the meaning of the sentence. Choose the
correct alternative. In case no improvement is needed, click the option
corresponding to "No improvement."

She is either a teacher nor a student .

1) Either a teacher or a student

2) Either a teacher and a student

3) Either the teacher but not a student

4) Either only a student

5) No improvement

TB Solution: The correct answer is option 1 i.e. ‘either a student or a teacher. .

Explanation
• One of the common errors in the use of certain conjunctions is in the usage of the co
-coordinating conjunctions ‘either–or,’ and ‘neither – nor.’

• As a grammar rule, ‘either’ is always followed by ‘or.’ Similarly, ‘neither’ is

followed by ‘nor.’

• In the sentence above, the opposite is used. 'Either' has been used with ‘nor’, and
as per the rule, this is wrong.

• Therefore, option 1 is the correct answer.

• An example of the same is: You should come either today or tomorrow.

Therefore the correct statement would be: She is either a teacher or a student.

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