Back To Course
English Grammar Rules12 chapters | 304 lessons
As a member, you'll also get unlimited access to over 70,000 lessons in math, English, science, history, and more. Plus, get practice tests, quizzes, and personalized coaching to help you succeed.
Free 5-day trialJoelle has taught middle school Language Arts and college academic writing. She has a master's degree in education.
Just like builders need adhesives to join materials together to construct new structures, sentence writers need conjunctions, connecting words, to join sentence parts together. One type of conjunction is the correlative conjunction. A correlative conjunction is a pair of joining words that connects two words, phrases, or clauses that are balanced together.
The most commonly used correlative conjunction pairs are:
When we use these correlative conjunction pairs together with words or phrases, we create a correlation or relationship between the two. However, in order to ensure that the sentences that are paired together are grammatically correct in format, let's look at the rules we need to keep in mind when using correlative conjunctions.
The verb in your sentence must agree with the subject that comes after the second word in the correlative conjunction pair. For example:
The two subjects in this sentence, 'Ramon' and 'Stu and Carter,' are separated by the correlative conjunction pair neither...nor. The subjects after 'nor' are 'Stu and Carter;' therefore, the verb must agree with this subject in point of view and number. 'Stu and Carter' is a third-person plural subject because it refers to more than one person. In fact, in order to determine the correct form of the verb 'to like' to be used in the sentence, we could substitute 'they' for 'Stu and Carter.' We would say 'they like.' Therefore, 'like' is used in the sentence:
In this example, the subject after the second word of the correlative conjunction pair, or, is 'Ramon.' With the singular subject, 'Ramon,' we would say 'Ramon likes.'
There is an exception to this rule. The subject-verb agreement rule does not apply to the correlative conjunction pair both...and because both...and indicates more than one and is thus plural. As such, the verb will always be plural. Let's look at an example:
Whenever we use a pronoun in a sentence, it must match its antecedent, the noun that the pronoun is taking the place of, in point of view, number, and gender. When a pair of correlative conjunctions is used to join two nouns, the noun nearest to the pronoun serves as the pronoun's antecedent. For example:
The pronoun used in this sentence is 'their.' There are two possible antecedents for this pronoun: 'the dog' and 'the two cats.' Since 'the two cats' is nearest to the pronoun, it is the antecedent. Because 'the two cats' is third-person plural, third-person, and gender neutral, the pronoun 'their' agrees with it.
Now, the pronoun is 'its' because the noun closest to it is ' the dog,' which is third-person singular.
The words, phrases, or clauses joined by a correlative conjunction pair must be parallel, meaning they have the same grammatical structure or form. This repetition of form or structure ensures that the two words, phrases, or clauses are balanced. Let's look at a couple of examples:
In this example, we used the correlative conjunction pair whether...or and made the sentence parallel by using the same structure (prepositional phrases) for the actions: 'for a hike' and 'for a swim.'
In this example, we used the correlative conjunction pair both...and. We made it parallel by using the same structure for the action words (both ending in 'ing'): 'hiking' and 'swimming.'
Correlative conjunctions are word pairs used to join and show a relationship between two balanced or equal words, phrases, or clauses together in a sentence. When using correlative conjunctions in sentences, it's important to remember that the words or word groups between the pair must be parallel, meaning showing the same grammatical structure or form. Additionally, the verb in the sentence must almost always agree with the subject closest to it. Finally, when a pronoun is used, it must agree in point of view, number, and gender with the closest antecedent, which is the noun that the pronoun is taking the place of.
To unlock this lesson you must be a Study.com Member.
Create your account
Already a member? Log In
BackDid you know… We have over 95 college courses that prepare you to earn credit by exam that is accepted by over 2,000 colleges and universities. You can test out of the first two years of college and save thousands off your degree. Anyone can earn credit-by-exam regardless of age or education level.
To learn more, visit our Earning Credit Page
Not sure what college you want to attend yet? Study.com has thousands of articles about every imaginable degree, area of study and career path that can help you find the school that's right for you.
Back To Course
English Grammar Rules12 chapters | 304 lessons