Conjunctions: Their Role In Sentences

Right construction of sentences is key in writing and speaking as they help in articulating your points better. It gets very dodgy at times. Examples are these sentences which may seem right but are not:

1. She wished she had some ice cream and because it was raining, she asked her roommate to drive her to the store, but she refused.

2. I tried to clean the house, I gave up and watched soap operas instead.

3. The dog was waiting in the window when his owner got home. Then, excited, wagging his tail. He went to greet her at the door.

I am sure you are wondering where the mistake lies in the above sentences.

1. She wished she had some ice cream. Because it was raining, she asked her roommate to drive her to the store, but she refused.

   (In the sentence, there was no need for the introduction of the conjunction ‘and’. The sentence had to be divided and the second part began with the conjunction ‘because’ for clear communication and natural flow.)

2. I tried to clean the house, but I gave up and watched soap operas instead.

   (The addition of the conjunction ‘but’ connected the two parts of the sentences, because in the incorrect one above, both parts of the sentences were independent therefore there was no flow in the sentence.)

3. The dog was waiting in the window when his owner got home. Excited, he wagged his tail and went to greet her at the door.

   (Another conjunction ‘and’ was introduced to connect the second and third sentence for clarity.)