Conjunct in the context of "Conjunction (grammar)"

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⭐ Core Definition: Conjunct

In linguistics, the term conjunct has three distinct uses:

  • A conjunct is an adverbial that adds information to the sentence that is not considered part of the propositional content (or at least not essential) but which connects the sentence with previous parts of the discourse. Rare as it may be, conjuncts may also connect to the following parts of the discourse.
    • It was raining. Therefore, we didn’t go swimming.
    • It was sunny. However, we stayed inside.
    • You are such a dork. Still, I love you from the bottom of my heart.
  • A conjunct is one of the terms that are conjoined in a conjoining construction. Conjuncts are conjoined by means of a conjunction, which can be coordinating, subordinating or correlative. Conjuncts can be words, phrases, clauses, or full sentences.
    • [Gretchen and her daughter] bought [motor oil, spark plugs, and dynamite].
    • Take two of these and call me in the morning.
  • A verb form, for example the conjunct verb endings of Old Irish or the conjunct mood (sometimes called the subjunctive mood) of Algonquian languages.

This article discusses the first kind of conjunct.

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👉 Conjunct in the context of Conjunction (grammar)

In grammar, a conjunction (abbreviated CONJ or CNJ) is a part of speech that connects words, phrases, or clauses, which are called its conjuncts. That description is vague enough to overlap with those of other parts of speech because what constitutes a "conjunction" must be defined for each language. In English, a given word may have several senses and in some contexts be a preposition but a conjunction in others, depending on the syntax. For example, after is a preposition in "he left after the fight" but a conjunction in "he left after they fought".

In general, a conjunction is an invariant (non-inflecting) grammatical particle that stands between conjuncts. A conjunction may be placed at the beginning of a sentence, but some superstition about the practice persists. The definition may be extended to idiomatic phrases that behave as a unit and perform the same function, e.g. "as well as", "provided that".

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Conjunct in the context of Coordination (linguistics)

In linguistics, coordination is a complex syntactic structure that links together two or more elements; these elements are called conjuncts or conjoins. The presence of coordination is often signaled by the appearance of a coordinator (coordinating conjunction), e.g. and, or, but (in English). The totality of coordinator(s) and conjuncts forming an instance of coordination is called a coordinate structure. The unique properties of coordinate structures have motivated theoretical syntax to draw a broad distinction between coordination and subordination. It is also one of the many constituency tests in linguistics. Coordination is one of the most studied fields in theoretical syntax, but despite decades of intensive examination, theoretical accounts differ significantly and there is no consensus on the best analysis.

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LINKED FROM (PARENTS)
← Conjunction (grammar) ← Coordination (linguistics) ← Grammatical conjunction ← Coordinating conjunction
LINKS TO (CHILDREN)
Linguistics → Adverbial → Sentence (linguistics) → Proposition → Discourse → Conjunction (grammar) → Coordinating conjunction → Subordinating conjunction → Correlative conjunction → Dependent and independent verb forms → Old Irish → Subjunctive mood → Algonquian languages →