If you replace the conjunction with a connector, the emphasis changes: Dogs are friendly. When a conjunction joins two statements, they are usually equal parts of the same idea.įor example, in the sentence ‘ Dogs are friendly and loud,’ the use of the conjunction ‘and’ gives equal value to dogs being friendly and dogs being loud. The use of the connector in the second sentence adds gravity to the fact that the dog wasn’t friendly. Deciding when to use one over the other, in part comes down to the emphasis you are trying to convey.Ĭonjunction: The dog ran to the gate, but it was not friendly.Ĭonnector: The dog ran to the gate. The difference is connectors join two separate sentences, while conjunctions join two elements within a sentence, such as clauses or nouns. A connector can also come after both the subject and the verb, in which case a comma isn’t usually needed.Ĭonnectors and conjunctions are similar in their purpose of describing a relationship between two statements.If the connector is placed after the subject and before the verb, a comma should be used before and after the connector.If the connector is the first word in the second sentence, it must be followed by a comma.They can be placed before or after the subject of the second sentence.Connectors are placed between two statements they are to connect.When it comes to learning about connectors, there are a few grammar rules for your students to remember: Teaching your learners to use connectors helps them express their views and share information precisely in exams and assessments. Connectors define relationships between ideas, enhance the flow of text, and help writers express themselves clearly. They go from short sentences, such as ‘My name is…’ or ‘I live in…’ to using conjunctions to create longer sentences, and then on to connectors to join up ideas across different sentences.Ĭonnectors are useful for learners looking to add detail, clarity and structure to their writing. As children work their way through the curriculum, they move towards using connectors at around the time they finish KS2.

Basic grammar for smp