The Case of Then and Than
In some parts of the United States, we are told, then and than not only look alike, they sound alike. Like a teacher with twins in her classroom, you need to be able to distinguish between these two words; otherwise, they'll become mischievous. They are often used and they should be used for the right purposes.
Than is used to make comparisons. In the sentence "Piggy would rather be rescued then stay on the island," we have employed the wrong word because a comparison is being made between Piggy's two choices; we need than instead. In the sentence, "Other than Pincher Martin, Golding did not write another popular novel," the adverbial construction "other than" helps us make an implied comparison; this usage is perfectly acceptable in the United States but careful writers in the UK try to avoid it (Burchfield).
Generally, the only question about than arises when we have to decide whether the word is being used as a conjunction or as a preposition. If it's a preposition (and Merriam-Webster's dictionary provides for this usage), then the word that follows it should be in the object form.
• He's taller and somewhat more handsome than me.
• Just because you look like him doesn't mean you can play better than him.
Most careful writers, however, will insist that than be used as a conjunction; it's as if part of the clause introduced by than has been left out:
• He's taller and somewhat more handsome than I [am handsome].
• You can play better than he [can play].
In formal, academic text, you should probably use than as a conjunction and follow it with the subject form of a pronoun (where a pronoun is appropriate).
Then is a conjunction, but it is not one of the little conjunctions listed at the top of this page. We can use the FANBOYS conjunctions to connect two independent clauses; usually, they will be accompanied (preceded) by a comma. Too many students think that then works the same way: "Caesar invaded Gaul, then he turned his attention to England." You can tell the difference between then and a coordinating conjunction by trying to move the word around in the sentence. We can write "he then turned his attention to England"; "he turned his attention, then, to England"; he turned his attention to England then." The word can move around within the clause. Try that with a conjunction, and you will quickly see that the conjunction cannot move around. "Caesar invaded Gaul, and then he turned his attention to England." The word and is stuck exactly there and cannot move like then, which is more like an adverbial conjunction (or conjunctive adverb — see below) than a coordinating conjunction. Our original sentence in this paragraph — "Caesar invaded Gaul, then he turned his attention to England" — is a comma splice, a faulty sentence construction in which a comma tries to hold together two independent clauses all by itself: the comma needs a coordinating conjunction to help out, and the word then simply doesn't work that way.
Subordinating Conjunctions
A Subordinating Conjunction (sometimes called a dependent word or subordinator) comes at the beginning of a Subordinate (or Dependent) Clause and establishes the relationship between the dependent clause and the rest of the sentence. It also turns the clause into something that depends on the rest of the sentence for its meaning.
• He took to the stage as though he had been preparing for this moment all his life.
• Because he loved acting, he refused to give up his dream of being in the movies.
• Unless we act now, all is lost.
Notice that some of the subordinating conjunctions in the table below — after, before, since — are also prepositions, but as subordinators they are being used to introduce a clause and to subordinate the following clause to the independent element in the sentence.
Common Subordinating Conjunctions
after
although
as
as if
as long as
as though
because
before
even if
even though if
if only
in order that
now that
once
rather than
since
so that
than
that though
till
unless
until
when
whenever
where
whereas
wherever
while
The Case of Like and As
Strictly speaking, the word like is a preposition, not a conjunction. It can, therefore, be used to introduce a prepositional phrase ("My brother is talllike my father"), but it should not be used to introduce a clause ("My brother can't play the piano like as he did before the accident" or "It lookslike as if basketball is quickly overtaking baseball as America's national sport."). To introduce a clause, it's a good idea to use as, as though, oras if, instead.
• Like As I told you earlier, the lecture has been postponed.
• It looks like as if it's going to snow this afternoon.
• Johnson kept looking out the window like as though he had someone waiting for him.
In formal, academic text, it's a good idea to reserve the use of like for situations in which similarities are being pointed out:
• This community college is like a two-year liberal arts college.
However, when you are listing things that have similarities, such as is probably more suitable:
• The college has several highly regarded neighbors, like such as the Mark Twain House, St. Francis Hospital, the Connecticut Historical Society, and the UConn Law School.
Omitting That
The word that is used as a conjunction to connect a subordinate clause to a preceding verb. In this construction that is sometimes called the "expletive that." Indeed, the word is often omitted to good effect, but the very fact of easy omission causes some editors to take out the red pen and strike out the conjunction that wherever it appears. In the following sentences, we can happily omit the that (or keep it, depending on how the sentence sounds to us):
• Isabel knew [that] she was about to be fired.
• She definitely felt [that] her fellow employees hadn't supported her.
• I hope [that] she doesn't blame me.
Sometimes omitting the that creates a break in the flow of a sentence, a break that can be adequately bridged with the use of a comma:
• The problem is, that production in her department has dropped.
• Remember, that we didn't have these problems before she started working here.
As a general rule, if the sentence feels just as good without the that, if no ambiguity results from its omission, if the sentence is more efficient or elegant without it, then we can safely omit the that. Theodore Bernstein lists three conditions in which we should maintain the conjunction that:
• When a time element intervenes between the verb and the clause: "The boss said yesterday that production in this department was down fifty percent." (Notice the position of "yesterday.")
• When the verb of the clause is long delayed: "Our annual report revealed that some losses sustained by this department in the third quarter of last year were worse than previously thought." (Notice the distance between the subject "losses" and its verb, "were.")
• When a second that can clear up who said or did what: "The CEO said that Isabel's department was slacking off and that production dropped precipitously in the fourth quarter." (Did the CEO say that production dropped or was the drop a result of what he said about Isabel's department? The second that makes the sentence clear.)
Authority for this section: Dos, Don'ts & Maybes of English Usage by Theodore Bernstein. Gramercy Books: New York. 1999. p. 217. Examples our own.
Beginning a Sentence with Because
Somehow, the notion that one should not begin a sentence with the subordinating conjunction because retains a mysterious grip on people's sense of writing proprieties. This might come about because a sentence that begins with because could well end up a fragment if one is not careful to follow up the "because clause" with an independent clause.
• Because e-mail now plays such a huge role in our communications industry.
When the "because clause" is properly subordinated to another idea (regardless of the position of the clause in the sentence), there is absolutely nothing wrong with it:
• Because e-mail now plays such a huge role in our communications industry, the postal service would very much like to see it taxed in some manner.
Correlative Conjunctions
Some conjunctions combine with other words to form what are called correlative conjunctions. They always travel in pairs, joining various sentence elements that should be treated as grammatically equal.
• She led the team not only in statistics but also by virtue of her enthusiasm.
• Polonius said, "Neither a borrower nor a lender be."
• Whether you win this race or lose it doesn't matter as long as you do your best.
Correlative conjunctions sometimes create problems in parallel form. Click HERE for help with those problems. Here is a brief list of common correlative conjunctions.
both . . . and
not only . . . but also
not . . . but
either . . . or neither . . . nor
whether . . . or
as . . . as
Conjunctive Adverbs
The conjunctive adverbs such as however, moreover, nevertheless, consequently, as a result are used to create complex relationships between ideas. Refer to the section on Coherence: Transitions Between Ideas for an extensive list of conjunctive adverbs categorized according to their various uses and for some advice on their application within sentences (including punctuation issues).
Conjunction -
6.2 คำสันธาน ( Conjunction )
คำสันธาน คือคำที่ใช้เชื่อมความ ซึ่งได้แก่ คำสันธานที่ใช้เชื่อมประโยคที่สมบูรณ์สองประโยคเข้าด้วยกัน (coordinating conjunction) คำสันธานที่ใช้นำหน้าประโยคย่อยไม่อิสระใน complex sentence (subordinating conjunction) และคำสันธานแบบคำคู่ ( paired conjunction)
6.2.1 Coordinating Conjunction
คือคำสันธานที่ใช้เชื่อมเพื่อแสดงความสัมพันธ์ระหว่างคำ กลุ่มคำ หรือเชื่อ