We have beef and pork today but no fish.
And, but, or, and so are conjunctions.
They join two parts of a sentence:
I have two sons | and | one daughter. |
I like dogs | but | I don't like cats. |
Do you prefer tea | or | coffee? |
We're not going out today | because | it's raining. |
It's raining | so | we're not going out today. |
We use them to add some extra information.
Conjunction | Use | Examples |
and |
To join two or more pieces of information - it suggests 'also'
|
I live in Paris and I work in a bank.
We need bread, cheese and wine.
|
but |
To join two contrasting ideas
|
I'm busy today but I'm free tomorrow.
|
or |
To join two or more pieces of information in a negative sentence
To join two possibilities
|
I don't like wine or beer.
We don't have any apples, oranges or bananas.
We can finish this today or tomorrow. |
because |
To give a reason |
I'm having lunch early today because I have a meeting this afternoon.
|
so |
To add a consequence or a result |
I have a meeting this afternoon so I'm having lunch early today.
|
The conjunctions and, but, or, because and so are usually placed in the middle of a sentence but can also be used to begin a sentence, especially in informal writing:
It's very quiet in the office at the moment because so many people are on holiday.
Because so many people are on holiday, it's very quiet in the office at the moment.
With and, but, or and so, there is a sense of a pause before emphasising something:
We need to find new premises. And we need to employ two new managers!
It's a serious problem. But, don't worry - I think I have a solution.
We could invite everyone to the meeting. Or maybe we should limit it to team leaders.
It's getting nearer to the deadline. So, let's work hard to get it finished.