Important Rules of Using Correlative Conjunctions In A Sentence Correctly | Correct Usages of Correlative Conjunctions
Rules of Using Correlative Conjunctions
"Correlative conjunctions are made up of two or more words working together as a pair, to link two similar items" - Defined by Collins Dictionary.
In simple words, correlative conjunction is a pair of two or more words that work together to connect two similar items in a sentence. Correlative conjunctions always work together to link two parts of a sentence that correlate with one another. [Two parts are similar to each other.]
*Correlative conjunctions join words, phrases and clauses of similar importance/structure/category in a sentence.
Some of the most important Correlative Conjunctions:
Not only...but also, Either...or, Neither...nor, Both...and, Whether...or,
Hardly...when, Such...that, etc.
Here are some examples to help you understand better how to use
correlative conjunctions in a sentence correctly:
A) Not only...but also:
1) Tom likes not only tea but also coffee.
2) He is not only an actor but also a good singer.
But,
Not only he is an actor but also he is a good singer.
[This statement is grammatically Incorrect]
And,
Not only Tom but also John told me this. [Correct]
B) Either...or:
1) Either John or his brother will go there.
2) Tom will learn either English or French.
But,
Either Tom will learn English or French. [This statement is
grammatically Incorrect]
Likewise,
1) Marry will either sing or dance. [Correct]
But,
Either Marry will sing or dance. [Incorrect]
And,
Either Marry will sing or Marry will dance.
[Incorrect]
Let's take another example,
2) Jack will buy either a car or a bike. [Correct]
But,
Either Jack will buy a car or a bike. [Incorrect]
Or,
Either Jack will buy a car or Jack will buy a bike.
[Incorrect]
Likewise,
1) John will either build a house or purchase a flat.
[Correct]
But,
Either John will build a house or purchase a flat.
[Grammatically Incorrect]
And,
John will purchase either a house or a flat.
[Correct]
C) Neither...Nor:
1) Jack will neither build a house
nor purchase a flat. [Correct]
but,
Neither Jack will build a house
nor purchase a flat.
[Incorrect]
Let's take another example,
2) Neither Tom nor Jack went to the
temple. [Correct]
D) Both...and:
1) Both George and Jack have started learning English.
2) Both my brother and my sister like coffee.
3) My little sister has eaten both ice cream
and chocolate.
But,
Both my little sister has eaten ice cream and chocolate.
[Incorrect]
E) Whether...or:
1) I'm not sure whether you should do that or not.
Or,
You can say:
I'm not sure whether you should join this job or wait for
another one.
*** Important Notes:
Now let's know the most important rules of using correlative conjunctions correctly in sentences.
Important Rules of Correlative Conjunctions (Best practices for using correlative conjunctions)
There are some basic rules for using correlative conjunctions in sentences
correctly that you should keep in mind. Let's learn these rules one by
one.
A) The most important rule that you must have to keep in mind while using
correlative conjunctions is to maintain the parallel structure:
*Parallel Structure:
The items or ideas that are connected by correlative conjunctions in
sentences must be similar and follow the same grammatical structure.
Examples:
1) The girl is both intelligent and beautiful.
[Correct] (Because it maintains the parallel structure; both
intelligent and beautiful are adjectives.)
But,
The girl is both intelligent and works hard.
[Incorrect] (Because it doesn't maintain the parallel structure; here
the word 'intelligent' placed after 'both' is an
adjective but the word 'works' placed after 'and' is a
verb. That's why it breaks the rule of parallel structure and the
sentence is grammatically incorrect.)
Let's take another example to understand this better:
2) I'm not sure whether the white shirt or the blue shirt
would be better for you. [Correct] (Because it maintains the parallel
structure; both 'the white shirt' and 'the blue shirt' are
noun phrases and they are similar to each other.)
But,
I'm not sure whether a white shirt or wearing a blue shirt
would be better for you. [Incorrect] (Because it doesn't maintain the
parallel structure; the first item 'a white shirt' is a
noun phrase but the second idea 'wearing a blue shirt' is a
verb phrase. Here the relative conjunction
'whether...or' joins two different items or ideas that don't follow
the same grammatical structure. That's why the sentence is grammatically
incorrect.)
More examples:
1) Jack will buy either a car or a bike. [Correct] (Following the parallel structure)
But,
Either Jack will buy a car or a bike.
[Incorrect] (Not following the parallel structure)
2) Neither Tom nor Jack went to the temple. [Correct] (Following the parallel structure)
But,
Neither Tom went to the temple nor Jack. [Incorrect]
(Not following the parallel structure)
3) My little sister has eaten both ice cream and chocolate. [Correct] (Following the parallel structure)
But,
Both my little sister has eaten ice
cream and chocolate. [Incorrect] (Not following
parallel structure)
4) Either your father or your mother will teach you English.
[Correct] (Following the parallel structure)
But,
Either your father will teach you English or your mother.
[Incorrect] (Not following the parallel structure)
5) My sister likes not only tea but also coffee.
[Correct] (Following the parallel structure)
But,
My sister not only likes tea but also coffee.
[Incorrect] (Not following parallel structure)
And,
My sister not only likes tea, but he also likes
coffee. [Correct] (Following the parallel structure)
B) The 2nd most important rule is to maintain the subject-verb agreement
in the sentence:
Important subject-verb agreement rules:
1) When two singular subjects are joined by correlative conjunction, the
verb should be singular as well:
For examples:
a) Neither my brother nor my sister likes pizza. [Correct
subject-verb agreement] (Here both the pronouns 'brother' and
'sister' are singular and this is why the singular verb
'likes' is used.)
b) Not only John but also Jack wants to learn English. [Correct
subject-verb agreement]
But,
Neither my brother nor my sister like pizza. [Incorrect subject-verb agreement]
Not only John but also Jack want to learn English. [Incorrect
subject-verb agreement]
* There is one exception: When two singular subjects are joined by the
correlative conjunction 'Both...and', the verb should be plural.
For example,
a) Both my sister and my brother are going to London tonight.
[Correct]
b) Both John and jack like pizza. [Correct]
But,
Both my sister and my brother is going to London tonight.
[Incorrect]
Both John and Jack likes pizza. [Incorrect]
2) When two plural subjects are joined by correlative conjunction, the
verb that follows should be plural as well:
For examples,
Neither my brothers nor my sisters are coming home tonight.
[Correct]
Not only girls but also boys respect their teachers.
[Correct]
But,
Neither my brothers nor my sisters is coming home tonight.
[Incorrect]
Not only girls but also boys respects their teachers.
[Incorrect]
3) When one singular subject and one plural subject are joined by
correlative conjunction, the verb should agree with the subject (noun or
pronoun) that is nearest or closest to it (verb):
For examples,
1) Both my sister and my brothers like tea. [Correct]
(the verb 'like' is plural, because the pronoun
'brothers' that is closest to the verb is also plural.)
2) Neither my brothers nor my sister likes coffee.
[Correct] (Here the singular verb 'likes' is used because the
pronoun 'sister' that is nearest to the verb is in the singular
form.)
Important Note:
Many experts believe that when we join one singular subject and one plural
subject using correlative conjunction, the verb should be plural. In simple
words, if either of the subjects is plural, the verb should also be plural.
According to them, both the following sentences are correct:
1) Both my sister and my brothers like tea.
2) Neither my brothers nor my sister like coffee.
* If you get confused with this rule, always place the plural subject
nearest or closest to the verb. In this case, the verb should be
plural.
C) Ensuring Pronoun Agreement with Correlative Conjunctions
Like subject-verb agreement, we also have to be careful with pronoun
agreement when using correlative conjunctions. It's very important to use
the right pronouns according to the subjects in the sentence.
Important Rules:
1) Two singular subjects:
When we join two singular subjects using correlative conjunctions, we
should use a singular pronoun.
For examples,
a) Not only George but also Jack lost
his mobile.
b) Neither George nor Jack completed
his homework.
c) Neither Julee nor Marry completed
her homework.
* There is one exception: When two singular subjects are joined by the
correlative conjunction 'Both...and', the pronoun should be
plural.
For example,
Both George and Jack completed their homework.
2) Two plural subjects:
When we join two plural subjects, we should use a plural pronoun.
For example,
a) Not only my friends but also your friends lost
their
mobiles.
b) Neither John's friends nor Jack's friends have had
their breakfast.
c) Both my sisters and my brothers accepted
their mistakes.
3) One singular subject and one plural subject:
When joining one singular subject and one plural subject, the pronoun
should agree with the subject (noun) that is nearest or closest to it.
Examples,
a) Neither Jack nor his friends accepted
their faults.
b) Neither Jack's friends nor Jack accepted
his faults.
* Important Note:
Again, many experts believe that when we join one singular subject and one
plural subject using correlative conjunction, the pronoun should be plural.
In simple words, if either of the subjects (nouns) is plural, the pronoun
should also be plural. According to them, both the following sentences are
correct:
a) Neither Jack nor his friends accepted
their faults.
b) Neither Jack's friends nor Jack accepted
their faults.
* If you get confused with this rule, always place the plural subject
nearest or closest to the pronoun. In this case, the pronoun should be
plural.
Important Notes:
1) Avoid using double negative when using the correlative conjunction
'Neither...nor'. This is a common mistake. You should be aware of
this mistake.
For example,
a) Jack doesn't like neither tea nor coffee. [This is
not the best practice. Never use the correlative conjunction
'neither...nor' like this.]
You should always write the sentence like this:
Jack likes neither tea nor coffee. [Correct]
Or,
Jack doesn't like either tea or coffee. [This is also a
correct statement]
2) Don't use a comma unnecessarily. When correlative conjunction is used
to join two independent clauses, a comma should be used to separate that two independent clauses.
For example,
a) Neither your brother, nor your sister came here.
[Incorrect] (No need to use a comma here)
But,
The correct one is:
Neither your brother nor your sister came here. [Correct]
b) My sister not only cleaned her room, but she
also washed the dishes. [Here two independent clauses are
separated by a comma]
* In most cases, we see that people don't follow the rules of
correlative conjunctions while speaking English in everyday life; they don't
maintain the parallel structure, subject-verb agreement, etc. But you should
maintain the parallel structure and the subject-verb agreement in formal
speaking and writing.
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