a conjunction (abbreviated CONJ or CNJ) is a part of speech that connects words, sentences, phrases, or clauses. A discourse connective is a conjunction joining sentences.[citation needed] This definition may overlap with that of other parts of speech, so what constitutes a "conjunction" must be defined for each language. In general, a conjunction is an invariable grammatical particle, and it may or may not stand between the items in a conjunction
The definition may also be extended to idiomatic phrases that behave as a unit with the same function, e.g. "as well as", "provided that".
A simple literary example of a conjunction: "the truth of nature, and the power of giving interest" (Samuel Taylor Coleridge's Biographia Literaria)[1]
Conjunctions may be placed at the beginning of sentences.[2] But some superstition about the practice persists.[3]