A conjunction is a word that links words or groups of words.

IN ENGLISH

There are two kinds of conjunctions: coordinating and subordinating.

Coordinating conjunctions join words, phrases, and clauses that are

equal; they coordinate elements of equal rank. The major coordinating

conjunctions are and, but, or, nor, for and yet.

good or evil

over the river and through the woods

They invited us, but we couldn’t go.

Subordinating conjunctions join a dependent clause to a main clause;

they subordinate one clause to another. A clause introduced by a sub-

ordinating conjunction is called a subordinate clause. Typical subordi-

nating conjunctions are before, after since, although, because, if,

unless, so that, while, that, and when.

Althyugh we were invited, yve didn’t

subordinating main

conjunction clause

They left because they were bored.

II I

main subordinating

clause conjunction

He said that he was tired.

w-w I

main subordinating

clause conjunction

Notice that the subordinate clause may come either at the beginning of

the sentence or after the main clause.

IN SPANISH

Conjunctions must be memorized as vocabulary.

Remember that, like adverbs and prepositions, conjunctions are

invariable; that is, they never change their form.

38. WHAT IS A PREPOSrnON?

A preposition is a word that shows the relationship of one word (usu-

ally a noun or pronoun) to another word in the sentence. The noun or

pronoun following the preposition is called the object of the preposi-

tion. The preposition plus its object is called a prepositional phrase.

IN ENGLISH

Prepositions normally indicate position, direction, or time.

• prepositions showing position

Paul was in the car.

Mary put the books on the table.

• prepositions showing direction

Mary went to school.

The students came directly from class.

• prepositions showing time

Spanish people go on vacation in August.

Before class, they went to eat.

Not all prepositions are single words:

because of in front of instead of

due to in spite of on account of

IN SPANISH

You will have to memorize prepositions as vocabulary. Their meaning

and use must be studied carefully. There are three important things to

remember:

1. Prepositions are invariable. This means they never change their

form. (They never become plural, nor do they have a gender)

2. Prepositions are tricky. Every language uses prepositions differ-

ently. Do not assume that the same preposition is used in Spanish as

in English, or even that a preposition will be used in Spanish when

you must use one in English (and vice versa).

ENGLISH —) SPANISH

change of prepositions

to laugh at reirse de (of)

to consist of consistir en (in)

ENGLISH —4 SPANISH

preposition no preposition

to lookfor buscar

to look at mirar

no preposition preposition

to leave salir de

to enter entrar en

A dictionary will usually give you the verb plus the preposition

when one is required.

3. Although the position of a preposition in an English sentence may

vary, it cannot vary in Spanish. Spoken English often places a

preposition at the end of the sentence; in this position it is called a

dangling preposition. In formal English there is a strong tendency to

avoid dangling prepositions by placing them within the sentence or

at the beginning of a question.

Spoken English Formal English

The man I spoke to is Spanish. The man to whom I spoke is

Spanish.

Who are you playing with? With whom are you playing?

Here is the girl you asked about. Here is the girl about whom you

asked.

Spanish places prepositions the same way as formal English; that is,

within the sentence or at the beginning of a question. A preposition

cannot be placed at the end of a Spanish sentence.

Roberto es el hombre a quien le habld ayer.

Roberto is the man to whom I spoke yesterday.

~Con quién juegas?

With whom are you playing?

There are some English expressions where the natural position of

the preposition is at the end of the sentence; it is not a question of

the difference in spoken or formal language.

What are you thinking about?

Changing the struCture by placing the preposition within the sen-

tence would sound awkward.

About what are you thinking?

131

However, as awkward as it may sound in English, this is the struc-

tire that must be used in the Spanish sentence.

~En qué piensas?

Careful

Do not translate an English verb + preposition wit a word-for-word

equivalent (see pp. 21-22).