English Grammar
CORRELATIVE CONJUNCTIONS
Conjunctions that relate one element to another in a sentence,
for example 'not only / but also'.
Correlative conjunctions work in pairs to relate one element
in a sentence to another.
They work in pairs such as 'both/and', 'not only/but also',
and must be used in different places in a sentence for them to work.
No commas are used unless the two elements being joined are independent clauses.
Here are some examples:
| CORRELATIVE CONJUNCTIONS | |
| As many/as | -There are as many chairs as there are guests. -We have as many plates as we need. |
| Barely/when | -We had barely finished the match when it started to rain. -I had barely opened my computer when the boss arrived. |
| Both/and | -Emma liked both the location and the restaurant. -Both the father and the son are tall. |
| Between/and | -Between travel and work he had a tiring schedule. -It was difficult to choose between the peach tart and the strawberry pavlova. |
| Either/or | -Tom usually either walks to work or takes his bicycle. -Either you stop making noise or you go to your room. |
| Hardly/when | -The teacher had hardly begun to speak when he was interrupted. -I had hardly started to show the graphs when the lights went off. |
| Just as/so (inversion after 'so') |
-Just as French is spoken in France, so is Spanish in Spain. -Just as your hair needs trimming, so does mine. |
| Neither/nor | -Hugo was neither willing nor able to chair the meeting. -He bought neither the red nor the blue jacket. |
| Not/but | -The problem is not a lack of money but a lack of planning. -It's not a question of difficulty but a fear of making a mistake. |
| Not only/but also | -Diana not only plays the piano but also sings. -Not only am I going to buy a dress but also shoes to match. |
| No sooner/than | -No sooner had I arrived than they all started to argue. -The boy had no sooner started to explain than his mother got angry. |
| Not until/that | -It was not until I heard the alarm that I realized someone was in the house. -It was not until the police arrived that the crowd started to disperse. |
| Rather/than | -They’d rather go to the beach than play tennis. -I'd rather live in the country than in the city. |
| Scarcely/when | -We had scarcely started our meal when the phone rang. -Tom had scarcely reached the intersection when the car broke down. |
| So/that | -The girl was so weak that
she could hardly lift her head. -The road was so icy that it was dangerous to drive. |
| Such/that | -It was such a cold day that we decided to stay indoors. -He had such a headache that he couldn't concentrate. |
| What with/and | -What with her job and the children she doesn't have much
free time. -What with the virus and the bad weather we were confined indoors for weeks. |
| Whether/or | -Jack didn’t know whether to call or to send a letter. -You've got to go to school whether you like it or not. |
See also:
conjunctions
back to grammar
back to homepage