1 From: Grammar Dimensions: Form, Meaning and Use, Book 4, 4th Ed.. J. Frodesen and J. Eyring. Boston: Heinle Thomson, 2007. UNIT 12 SENTENCE CONNECTORS UNIT GOALS: ● To understand the differences between conjunctions and sentence connectors ● To use appropriate sentence connectors to express various logical meanings ● To choose appropriate sentence connectors for formal and informal contexts ● To use correct punctuation for sentence connectors in writing ► OPENING TASK How Things Came to Be Cultures all over the world have creation myths, which explain how life on earth came to be. STEP 1 Read the two creation myths from Finland and Micronesia that are summarized below. They describe how the earth, the sky, and the first people on earth came to exist. STEP 2 Write a paragraph describing the similarities and differences between the two creation myths. In comparing the stories, consider the following questions: 1. What existed at the beginning of creation? 2. In what order were things created? 3. How were the earth and sky created? 4. Who was responsible for creating the first people and how were they created? From Finland: In the beginning there was only Water, Air, and Air’s daughter, Ilamatar. Ilamatar spent her time wandering around the world. One day Ilamatar sank down to rest upon the ocean’s face as she was very tired. When she lay down, the seas rolled over her, the waves tossed her and the wind blew over her. For seven hundred years, Ilamatar swam and floated in the sea. Then one day while she lay floating with one knee up out of the water, a beautiful duck swooped down and landed on her knee. There it laid seven eggs. As the days went by, the eggs grew hotter and hotter until Ilamatar could no longer endure the heat and pulled her knee into the water. Because of this, the eggs rolled into the ocean and sank to its bottom. Eventually, one of the eggs cracked. From the lower half of its shell, the earth was formed. From the egg’s upper shell, the sky formed over the land and sea. From the yolk of the egg, the sun rose into the sky. From the white of the egg, the moon and stars were created and took their place in the heavens. Later, Ilamatar gave birth to the sea’s child, whom she called Vainamoinen. For seven years Vainamoinen swam the seas. Then he went ashore and became the first person on earth.2 From Nauru, Micronesia: In the beginning there was only water and the creator, Areop-Enap, who lived in a mussel shell in the sea. It was very dark in the sea and also in the shell; as a result, Areop-Enap couldn’t see very well. He could, however, feel around in the dark. Thus it was that he discovered a large snail and a small snail who were occupying the shell with him. Areop-Enap used his power to change the small snail into the moon and put it at the top of the shell. Then, by the light of the moon, Areop-Enap spotted a worm in the shell. He got the worm to separate the upper and lower parts of the shell. The lower part became the earth, while the upper part became the sky. Because of all this work, the poor worm died of exhaustion. His sweat, dripping into the lower shell, became the salty sea. After the sky and the earth had been created, Areop-Enap placed the big snail into the sky to be the sun. Finally, from stones he made the first people to hold up the sky. (Adapted from Maria Leach, The Beginning: Creation Myths around the World, New York: Funk & Wagnalls, 1956.)3 FOCUS 1 ► Connectors There are many types of meaning relationships that can exist between two ideas. Words or phrases that express these relationships are called connectors. The chart below shows some of these relationships. EXAMPLES TYPES OF RELATIONSHIPS EXAMPLES WITH CONNECTORS (a) Areop-Enap created the moon. He put it at the top of the shell. time sequence After Areop-Enap created the moon, he put it at the top of the shell. (b) Areop-Enap lived in a mussel shell. Two snails lived there. added idea Areop-Enap lived in a mussel shell. Two snails lived there as well. (c) In the Finnish myth, the heavens were created from an egg. The sun was formed from the yolk of the egg. example In the Finnish myth, the heavens were created from an egg. The sun, for example, was formed from the yolk of the egg. (d) In the Finnish myth, the earth did not exist in the beginning. In the Micronesian myth, at first there was only the sea. similarity In the Finnish myth, the earth did not exist in the beginning. Similarly, in the Micronesian myth, at first there was only the sea. (e) In the Micronesian myth, the sun was a snail. In the Finnish myth, the sun came from an egg yolk. contrast In the Micronesian myth, the sun was a snail, whereas in the Finnish myth the sun came from an egg yolk. (f) Ilamatar was very tired. She lay down on the ocean’s face. result Ilamatar was very tired, so she lay down on the ocean’s face. (g) Creation myths are universal. They are found throughout the world. clarification Creation myths are universal. That is, they are found throughout the world.4 Type of Connectors EXAMPLES EXPLANATIONS Independent Clause (h) Ilamatar kept the eggs on her knee, Independent Clause but eventually they got too hot. There are three main types of connectors: coordinating conjunctions, subordinating conjunctions, and sentence connectors. ● Coordinating conjunctions connect the ideas in two independent clauses. The coordinating conjunctions are and, but, for, or nor, so, and yet. In written English, we usually write these clauses as one sentence, separated by a comma. Dependent Clause (i) After Areop-Enap put the snail in Independent Clause the sky, he made people. Independent Clause (j) Areop-Enap put the snail in the sky Dependent Clause before he made people. ● Subordinating conjunctions connect ideas within sentences. They show the relationship between an idea in a dependent clause and an idea in an independent clause. Common subordinating conjunctions include: Time after, before, once, since, until, when, whenever, while Reason as, because, since Result in order that, so that, that Contrast although, even though, though, whereas Condition if, even if, provided that, unless Location where, wherever Independent Clause (k) Areop-Enap discovered two snails living in the shell