Lesson video

Hi, I'm Mr. Buckingham, and I'm really pleased you've joined me today to learn about conjunctions.

We're going to be learning some tricky grammar knowledge today, but I'm going to be with you every step of the way to help you through it, and I think we're going to learn a lot together.

Let's make a start.

Today's lesson is called "Two Types of Conjunction," and it comes from our unit called "Simple, Compound, "Adverbial, and Relative Complex Sentences." By the end of today's lesson, we are going to be able to identify the difference between co-ordinating and subordinating conjunctions.

Now, this is useful just on its own, but it's also important because it allows us to use so much variety in our writing.

So let's get started.

Here are today's keywords, my turn, your turn.

Conjunction, co-ordinating conjunction, subordinating conjunction, adverbial clause, and main clause.

Well done.

Let's take a look at those in a little bit more detail.

A conjunction is a word that joins words, phrases, or clauses.

A co-ordinating conjunction is a word that joins two main clauses to form a compound sentence.

A subordinating conjunction is a word that starts an adverbial clause, and an adverbial clause is a type of subordinate clause that starts with a subordinating conjunction.

A main clause is a group of words that contains a verb and make complete sense on its own.

Let's look at our lesson outline.

We're gonna start by looking at those co-ordinating conjunctions.

Then we'll move on to subordinating conjunctions, and then we're going to learn three new subordinating conjunctions, before, after, and while.

Let's make a start on our co-ordinating conjunctions.

First of all, what is a conjunction? Well, a conjunction is a joining word, and they can join words, phrases, and clauses.

So let's recap what we mean by words, phrases, and clauses.

A word just means a single word like the word flame.

A phrase is a group of words, but contains no verb like a bright, red flame.

We've got two adjectives, bright and red, describing the noun flame, but we don't have a verb, a doing, being, or a having word.

A clause is a group of words that does contain a verb like the flame flickered.

And I bet you spotted there that verb flickered.

That tells us this is a clause.

It contains a verb.

So a clause contains a verb, but a phrase does not.

Here's a very long group of words, a narrow, winding passageway with walls of solid granite.

Now, that's a lot of words, but there's no verb.

So this is a phrase.

Let's look at another one.

He'd never seen such an extraordinary sight.

Now it's tricky to spot this, but he'd is the contracted form of he had, and had is a verb.

So we've got a verb.

So this must be a clause.

Now you try.

Have a look at these groups of words and decide, are they phrases or clauses? Remember, a clause will contain a verb.

Pause the video and have a go.

Great effort, let's take a look.

We can see in the first one, as the door swung open, swung is a verb.

So this is a clause.

A solid, iron door with no handle contains no verb.

It's a phrase.

Jacob eased it open cautiously, eased is the verb there.

This is a clause.

And every single weekend has no verb.

It must be a phrase.

Really well done.

Now, we know that one type of clause is a main clause, and a main clause is a group of words that contains a verb and makes complete sense on its own.

Remember our character main and their superpower, which is that they can make a complete sentence all on their own.

Now co-ordinating conjunctions can join main clauses to make compound sentences.

Let's take a look.

We start with a main clause.

We add a co-ordinating conjunction, and, or, or but.

And then we have another main clause, and together, that makes a compound sentence.

For example, Jun loved the beach is a main clause.

It could be a sentence on its own, but we're going to add the co-ordinating conjunction but and then follow it with a second main clause, he found swimming difficult.

That could be a main clause on its own as well, and we can join those together to make this compound sentence, Jun loved the beach, but he found swimming difficult.

So we've got two main clauses joined by a co-ordinating conjunction to make a compound sentence.

Okay, your turn.

Which co-ordinating conjunction best fills the gap in the sentence below? Pause the video and have a think.

Well done.

It should be or.

We better wait or they'll probably get left behind.

Great job.

Now, in a compound sentence, the two main clauses have equal weight.

What we mean by that is they could both be a sentence on their own, and they don't rely on each other to make sense.

They are equal.

So let's look at this example.

The beach was covered in sharp pebbles, but we still enjoyed ourselves.

This is a compound sentence using the co-ordinating conjunction but to join two main clauses.

Here's our first one, the beach was covered in sharp pebbles.

That could be a sentence on its own.

And we still enjoyed ourselves is a main clause, which could also be a sentence on our own.

So we have two equal main clauses.

They could both be a sentence on their own, and they don't rely on each other to make sense, but we've joined them together with the co-ordinating conjunction to make them into a compound sentence.

So, which of these are true for a compound sentence, it always contains a comma, always contains a co-ordinating conjunction, always contains at least two main clauses, or always contains main clauses with equal weight? Pause the video and choose all the ones which are true for a compound sentence.

Have a go.

Great effort, let's take a look.

A compound sentence doesn't always contain a comma.

Remember, if we use the co-ordinating conjunction and, we don't use a comma before it, but it does always contain a co-ordinating conjunction.

It also must contain at least two main clauses, and it contains main clauses with equal weight.

Really well done if you spotted those three.

Now, we've seen co-ordinating conjunctions here joining together clauses.

However, a co-ordinating conjunction can also join words and phrases onto one main clause.

Jun ordered a salad and a drink.

We could go to Leeds or Bradford.

The weather is cloudy but warm.

We can see we have a main clause at the start of each of these sentences.

Jun ordered salad.

We could go to Leeds.

The weather is cloudy.

But then after our main clause and after our co-ordinating conjunction, we have a drink, which is a phrase, Bradford, which is a word, and warm, which is also a word.

Those are not main clauses.

These are words and phrases.

They're not clauses at all.

So we haven't made compound sentences here.

We've made simple sentences, not compound sentences.

We've got one main clause, a co-ordinating conjunction, but then a word or a phrase.

That is a simple sentence because it doesn't contain two main clauses.

Okay, let's have a go at a true or false question.

We've said we'll focus on reading and writing is a compound sentence.

Pause the video and decide if you think that is true or false.

Well done, it's false.

Now, see if you can explain why.

Is it because the conjunction is joining two main clauses or because the conjunction is joining a main clause and a word? Have a think.

Great job, it's b.

In this sentence, the conjunction and is joining the main clause, we'll focus on reading, to the word writing.

So this is not a compound sentence.

It's a simple sentence, which uses the coordinated conjunction and.

Good work.

Now, here's another example of a compound sentence.

The wind blew coarse sand into our mouths and eyes.

So, how has the co-ordinating conjunction and being used here? We've got three options.

Maybe it's been used to join two main clauses to make a compound sentence.

Maybe it's been used to join a main clause to a word, or maybe it's been used to join a main clause to a phrase.

So in this instance, we've got the main clause, the wind blew coarse sand into our mouths.

And then we've got the word eyes.

So we've used a main clause and a word, and you can see we've got a special code here to show the different options.

We've used MC plus MC to show a main clause and a main clause, MC plus W to show a main clause and a word, and MC plus P to show a main clause and a phrase.

So bear those in mind going forward 'cause we're gonna use those a little bit more for our task lead to run.

Here's one for you to try.

A cool breeze blew in from the ocean, but we were having too much fun to even notice.

How is the co-ordinating conjunction being used in that sentence? Pause the video and decide the way in which it's been used.

Great job.

This one has a main clause at the start, a cool breeze blew in from the ocean, and it has a second main clause after the co-ordinating conjunction, we were having too much fun to even notice.

So this is a compound sentence.

It's a main clause plus another main clause.

Great work.

What about this example, the children could have jam sandwiches or egg salad sandwiches? How has the co-ordinating conjunction been used in this sentence? Pause the video and have a think.

Great effort, let's take a look.

The children could have jam sandwiches is a main clause.

Then we have our co-ordinating conjunction or, but after that co-ordinating conjunction, we have egg salad sandwiches.

Now there's no verb in that group of words, so it must be a phrase.

That means we've used a main clause and a phrase, MC plus P.

Brilliant work if you've managed to spot those tricky differences.

So let's take a look at our first task for this lesson.

I'm going to show you some sentences, and I want you to decide what the co-ordinating conjunction has been used for in each sentence using the code that we've just learned.

Maybe it's to join two main clauses, MC plus MC.

Maybe it's to join a main clause and a phrase, MC plus P, or maybe it's to join a main clause and a word, MC plus W.

So I want you to look really closely at each sentence and decide, how has the main clause been used? Let's read them together.

The children watched the boats bobbing in the harbour and on the ocean.

A huge wave came from nowhere and it soaked Mr. Ghafoor to his skin.

The sea breeze was gentle but chilly.

We all bought an ice cream or an ice lolly from the van.

Aisha spotted a porpoise leaping from the water, or she thought she did.

And everyone was exhausted on the bus but me.

So pause the video now and decide using our code, how has the co-ordinating conjunction been used in each sentence? Have a go.

Okay, let's take a look.

In the first sentence, I can see we've got the phrase on the ocean.

So that's MC plus P.

There's no verb there.

In the second example, it soaked Mr. Ghafoor to his skin contains that verb soaked.

So this is MC plus MC.

It's two main clauses.

In number three, we've just got the word chilly.

So that's MC plus W, a main clause plus a word.

In number four, we've got an ice lolly from the van.

Now I don't see a verb there.

So that must be a phrase, main clause plus phrase.

In number five, we've got or she thought she did.

She thought she did could be a sentence on its own.

It's a main clause.

So we've got main clause plus a main clause.

And finally in the last one, we've just got the word me.

So this must be main clause plus word.

Fantastic job if you managed to spot all those.

In the next part of our lesson, we're going to focus on the other type of conjunction, subordinating conjunctions.

So another type of conjunction is a subordinating conjunction.

And a subordinating conjunction is a word that starts an adverbial clause.

Here's an example of adverbial clause, because the tide came in, it starts with a subordinating conjunction because, and the adverb clause is because the tide came in.

An adverbial clause is a type of subordinate clause.

And remember, a subordinate clause does not make complete sense on its own.

It relies on a main clause in order to make complete sense.

Now we can tell where the adverbial clause is in a sentence by looking for that subordinating conjunction.

Here are a few more that we know, as, when, so, and because.

So in this sentence, we've got our sandcastles were destroyed because the tide came is.

As the tide came in, our sandcastles were destroyed.

We left the water so we wouldn't be hurt.

Let's spot those adverbial clauses.

So I'm looking for the subordinate clause.

I can see because.

That tells me the adverb clause must be because the tide came in.

In the second example, I can see the subordinating conjunction as.

So this time the adverbial clause is at the start of the sentence.

It's as the tide came in.

And notice how when we've got the adverbial clause at the start of our sentence, it's followed by the comma there.

In the final sentence, I can see the subordinating conjunction so.

So that tells me the adverbial clause must be so we wouldn't be hurt.

Notice how all three of those are types of subordinate clause.

They wouldn't make complete sense on their own.

So, which of these are true for an adverbial clause, it starts with a subordinating conjunction, it ends with a subordinating conjunction, it makes complete sense in its own, and it needs to be added to a main clause to make complete sense? Pause the video and decide all of the ones which are true for an adverbial clause.

Great effort.

We can see that an adverbial clause must start with a subordinating conjunction.

It does not make complete sense on its own, and it needs to be added to a main clause in order to make complete sense.

So the subordinating conjunction is what allows us to join the adverbial clause to a main clause to make an adverbial complex sentence.

Let's have a look at this example.

Jacob rushed straight towards the water when the bus doors opened.

We can see the subordinating conjunction when.

So that tells us that when the bus doors opened is our adverbial clause.

And we've got the main clause, Jacob rushed straight towards the water.

So this is an adverbial complex sentence.

It's made of a main clause followed by an adverbial clause, a type of subordinate clause.

We could flip that sentence around.

We could say when the bus doors opened, Jacob rushed straight to towards the water.

And in this case, we've got the adverbial clause first followed by the main clause to make another adverbial complex sentence.

And notice how this time when the adverbial clause comes first, it is followed by that comma.

And remember that the adverbial clause relies on the main clause to make sense.

We need that adverbial complex sentence in order to make the adverbial clause make complete sense.

So, which sentence here has the adverbial clause highlighted correctly? We have three options.

Which one has the adverbial clause highlighted in green correctly? Pause the video and have a think.

Great job, it's the last example, as we rushed towards the sea must be the adverbial clause because it starts with the subordinating conjunction as, and we know that when the adverbial clause comes at the start of a sentence, it will be followed by the comma.

That tells us the main clause must be Mr. Clarke shouted at us to slow down.

There's our subordinating conjunction, and here's our comma telling us where the adverbial clause begins and ends.

Really well done if you spotted that.

So, we know several subordinating conjunctions now, and each one has its own purpose, its own job to do.

We know that as can be used for stating simultaneous action.

That means things which are happening at the same time.

For example, Andeep splashed in the cool, clear water as Izzy searched for crabs.

Those two things are happening at the same time, simultaneously.

We use when to give a timeframe for an idea for when it might be happening.

When Mr. Ghafoor blew his whistle, we all froze on the gritty sand.

That's telling us when did we all freeze on the sand? Oh, we did it when Mr. Ghafoor blew his whistle.

Now so is a subordinating conjunction that we use to show a result from an idea.

So in this sentence, it says we took our special goggles so we could glimpse tiny, bright fish.

So we've got the idea of taking our special goggles, and the result of that is that we can glimpse, see the tiny, bright fish.

We use because to show a reason for an idea, for instance, because the sky was cloudless, the sun's warmth was overwhelming.

So the reason the sun's warmth was overwhelming was because the sky was cloudless.

The sun could get down to us without being interfered with.

Now, take a look at this sentence.

Which subordinating conjunctions, and there might be more than one, could fill this gap? Blank the seagull stole her chips, Laura began to cry.

We've got when, because, and so.

Pause the video and decide which of those subordinating conjunctions could fill that gap.

Great job.

We could say when the seagull stole her chips, Laura began to cry, or we could say because the seagull stole her chips, Laura began to cry.

Both of those would make sense in that sentence.

Good work.

Okay, let's look at our second task for this lesson.

I'd like you to write an adverbial complex sentence using each subordinating conjunction I'm going to show you.

You may want to write about a trip to the beach, or maybe your teacher has given you another topic to write about.

And you can choose in each sentence whether the adverbial clause goes first or second.

Here are your subordinated conjunctions, and here are some ideas for how you might want to structure your sentence, but remember, you could flip the adverbial clause to the start or the end of the sentence.

It's your choice.

Just remember, if you put the adverbial clause at the start of the sentence, you'll need a comma at the end of the adverbial clause.

So, pause the video and try and write a sentence using each of these subordinating conjunctions.

Have a go.

Okay, let's take a look at some example sentences.

Now, yours will look different to mine, of course, but hopefully you've used your subordinating conjunctions correctly to show a different meaning in each sentence.

I've written we all wore a thick layer of sunscreen so we wouldn't burn in the intense heat.

As the sun beat down in our heads, we dug deep holes and intricate waterways.

Notice how those two things could be happening at exactly the same time.

I've said we all cheered when Mr. Ghafoor said we could stay another hour.

And because the pebbles were sharp underfoot, I put on my flip-flops.

So in the first sentence, I've got my adverbial clause second, so I don't have a comma.

In the second sentence, the adverbial clause is first, so it's followed by a comma.

My third sentence, I don't need a comma because the adverbial clause comes second.

And in my fourth sentence, the adverbial clause comes first, so it's followed by a comma.

Hopefully you remembered that special rule as well.

Great work.

Okay, in the final parts of our lesson, we're going to learn three new subordinating conjunctions.

We're going to learn about before, after, and while.

Let's get going.

So these are some more subordinating conjunctions that we need to know, before, after, and while.

Just like the other subordinating conjunctions, these words can start an adverbial clause.

Before and after are used to show the order ideas happen in.

For instance, before we left the beach, we all washed the sand from our feet.

Can you see that at adverbial clause at the start of the sentence there, before we left the beach? And it's showing us the order those two things happened in.

Before we could leave the beach, we had to wash the sand from our feet.

We could do it using after.

After we all washed the sand from our feet, we left the beach.

We could say we arrived home before the sunset, or we could say the sunset after we arrived home.

So using before and after, we are showing the order these things have happened in.

And we've got our adverbial clauses shown here.

And notice how that comma rule still applies to these subordinating conjunctions.

When the adverbial clause comes first, it's followed by a comma.

If the adverbial clause comes second, we don't need the comma.

Now, I'm going to show you four sentences, and I want you to decide whether before or after is the best subordinating conjunction to fill the gap in each clause.

Here are our sentences.

Pause the video and decide whether you want to use before or after.

Great job.

In the first one, we would say before we went to bed, we brushed our teeth.

In b, we'd say after we'd eaten lunch, we felt completely stuffed.

In c, we'd say we practised hard before we took the test.

And for d, we'd say year four celebrated after the test was over.

We've used those subordinate conjunctions to show the order things have happened in.

Now, before and after can be tricky because they don't always create adverbial clauses.

Here are some examples.

Before lunch, we washed our hands.

After the storm, the weather grew cooler.

We hurried to finish our homework before our Arabic lessons.

And Lucas rushed home for his tea after football practise.

If we look at the group of words linked to before or after in these sentences, we can see they don't contain a verb, before lunch, after the storm, before Arabic lessons, after football practise.

None of these groups of words contains a verb.

So they are not adverbial clauses.

They can't be clauses because they don't contain a verb.

Instead, these are phrases.

So, none of these phrases contains a verb, and these are not adverbial clauses, even though we've used the words before and after.

Let's have a look at some more sentences.

These do contain the words before and after, but I want you to decide which of them contain an adverbial clause.

And remember, that adverbial clauses will contain a verb.

We have before the day was over, the battle was lost.

After the battle, the soldiers assessed the damage.

The city would recover before too long.

And the soldiers rested after they had finished fighting.

Pause the video and decide which of those contain adverbial clauses.

Great effort.

This is really tricky.

In a, we've got the word was, which is a verb.

So before the day was over is an adverb your clause.

In b, we have after the battle.

Well, the battle does not contain a verb.

So this is not an adverbial clause.

It's a phrase.

The same is true for before too long.

There's no verb, so it is a phrase.

And in after they had finished fighting, we've got had finished.

Those are verbs.

So this is an adverbial clause.

Really well done if you spotted those.

Now, let's move on to our third new subordinating conjunction, the word while.

And while is also used like as to show a simultaneous action, to show things happening at the same time.

For instance, while the children worked, Miss Ofoedu marked some books.

Those two things are happening at the same time.

We've got the children working and Miss Ofoedu marking some books at the same time simultaneously.

Here are some more examples.

Lucas did his homework while Aisha played video games while year six were on their residential, year four were working hard in school.

And the wind whistled through the trees while the children shivered.

In each of those sentences, two things are happening at the same time.

So, can you find the adverbial clause in each sentence using our new subordinating conjunctions to help you? Remember, the subordinating conjunction starts the adverbial clause.

Pause the video and find the adverbial clause in each sentence.

Great job.

In the first sentence, we have the subordinating conjunction while, so the adverbial clause must be here.

In b, we have the subordinating conjunction before, so the adverbial clause is here.

In c, we have while again, at the start of the sentence this time.

There's the adverbial clause.

And d has the subordinating conjunction after, so the adverbial clause is here.

And each of those contains a verb, which shows us it's an adverbial clause and not a phrase.

Okay, here's our final task for this lesson.

I'd like you to write a main clause to follow each adverbial clause I've given you here.

And remember, the comma comes after the adverbial clause when it comes first in these adverbial complex sentences we're going to be creating here.

So I've given you the adverbial clause followed by a comma.

And I'd like you to write a main clause that could be placed after the adverbial clause to create anal complex sentence.

Pause the video and write your three sentences.

Great effort, let's take a look at some example sentences.

And remember, yours will look different to mine.

I've said while I ate dinner, dad fed my baby sister.

Those two things could happen simultaneously.

I've said after I got home from school, I collapsed onto the settee.

So that shows us that one thing happens after the other.

And I've written before I went to bed, I carefully packed my school bag for the next day.

Hopefully your sentences look similar in that they start with the subordinating conjunction and have a comma after the adverbial clause, but, of course, your main clause will be different to mine.

Really great job if you've managed to write those.

Okay, we've learned a lot this lesson.

So let's summarise the things we've learned.

We've learned that two main clauses can be joined by a co-ordinating conjunction to make a compound sentence.

And we know that the three co-ordinating conjunctions are and, but, and or.

We know that an adverbial clause starts with a subordinating conjunction, and it can be joined to a main clause to make an adverbial complex sentence.

And we know that there are many subordinating conjunctions, and we now know three more.

So our list of subordinate conjunctions includes as, when, because, so, while, before, and after.

Thank you so much for joining me for this lesson, and I can't wait to see you again in another one.

Well done.