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Important Rules of Using Correlative Conjunctions In A Sentence Correctly | Correct Usages of Correlative Conjunctions
Introduction
Some Life-changing Quotations by Famous English Writers.
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.
Points to Note:
English is a language just like your mother tongue.
Listen and Speak, Read and Write, Learn and Practice, that's it. Always
remember, practice makes us fit to achieve what we really want.
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