Start here · the first lesson of Conjunctions and connectors
Conjunctions and connectors
Grammar: Voice, Narration, Tenses + Rule Bank · for IPMAT Indore, IPMAT Rohtak and JIPMAT
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The idea
Conjunctions join clauses and show how they relate. Exams test (1) correlative pairs whose two halves are fixed (no sooner… than), (2) double conjunctions (although… but), (3) the built-in negatives unless and lest, and (4) choosing a connector whose logic fits the sentence. JIPMAT 2023 Q33 (Hardly had the function got over…) was a correlative item (left out of the bank because its key was faulty; see voice/tense census).
Textbook vs exam method
Textbook method
Correlative pairs (conjunction-correlative-pair)
| Pair | Right | Wrong |
|---|---|---|
| no sooner… than | No sooner had he left than it rained. | …when it rained. |
| hardly / scarcely… when | Hardly had the match begun when it started to rain. | …than it started to rain. |
| both… and | both high and fixed | both high as well as fixed |
| so + adjective… that; such + noun phrase… that | so slow that; such a slow pitch that | such slow that |
| not only… but also; either… or; neither… nor | neither the guide nor the students | neither the guide or the students |
When no sooner / hardly / scarcely begins the sentence, invert: Scarcely had the guests arrived when…
Although… but (conjunction-although-but): Although it rained, we went out (or …, yet we went out). Never Although…, but….
Unless and lest (conjunction-unless-lest): unless you hurry (not unless you don't hurry); Walk carefully lest you fall / lest you should fall (not lest you may not fall).
Logic (conjunction-meaning)
| Relation | Connectors |
|---|---|
| contrast | although, though, even though, but, yet, however, whereas |
| cause | because, since, as |
| result | so, therefore, hence |
| condition | if, unless, provided (that) |
| purpose | so that, in order that, lest |
Exam method
- Spot the first half of a pair. (no sooner, hardly, both, neither, so/such) and check its partner.
- Sentence starts with no sooner / hardly / scarcely?. Check for "had + subject".
- Although / though?. Delete any "but".
- Unless / lest?. Delete any "not"; lest takes should or the base verb.
- FIB with connectors. read both clauses, name the relation, then choose.