What is a connective?

A connective word is a word that connects two clauses or phrases. Connective words can be conjunctions (such as “and” or “but”), prepositions (such as “in” or “after”), or adverbs (such as “then” or “therefore”).

In order to understand how connective words work, it is first important to understand the difference between a clause and a phrase. A clause is a group of words that contains both a subject and a verb. For example, the following sentence has two clauses: “I eat breakfast every morning” (clause 1) and “I brush my teeth afterwards” (clause 2). Each of these clauses could stand alone as its own sentence.

A phrase, on the other hand, is a group of words that does not contain both a subject and a verb. For example, the following sentence has two phrases: “in the morning” (phrase 1) and “after I eat breakfast” (phrase 2). Neither of these phrases could stand alone as its own sentence.

Now that we know the difference between clauses and phrases, let’s look at how connective words can be used to connect them.

Conjunctions are perhaps the most common type of connective word. They are used to join two clauses together. For example, in the sentence “I eat breakfast every morning and I brush my teeth afterwards,” the conjunction “and” is used to connect the two clauses.

Prepositions are another type of connective word that are often used to connect two phrases together. For example, in the sentence “I brush my teeth after I eat breakfast,” the preposition “after” is used to connect the two phrases.

Adverbs can also be used as connective words. They are typically used to connect two clauses together where one clause is dependent on or results from the other clause. For example, in the sentence “I eat breakfast every morning so I can have energy for the day ,”the adverb “so” is used to show that eating breakfast leads to having energy.”