Subordinating Conjunctions | Examples & List
A subordinating conjunction introduces a dependent clause in order to link it to an independent clause.
Subordinating conjunctions express a variety of meanings, and they often comprise more than one word.
| Meaning | Subordinating conjunction examples |
|---|---|
| Condition | I’ll do the report for you as long as you help me with the proposal. |
| Time | He only suggested it after I mentioned it at the meeting. |
| Purpose | Put your keys in your bag now so that you don’t forget them. |
| Place | We can meet wherever it is most convenient for you. |
| Contrast | Despite the fact that I reminded her twice, she still forgot my book. |
Subordinating conjunctions are also sometimes called subordinate conjunctions or subordinators.
What is a subordinating conjunction?
A subordinating conjunction comes at the start of a dependent clause (also known as a subordinate clause) in order to join it to a grammatically “more important” independent clause (also known as a main clause).
The dependent clause gives us information about the independent clause, such as a reason, time, or condition.
Before we have the meeting, let’s discuss the main points we want to make. [Time]
You can start this course if you have passed Introduction to Economics. [Condition]
A dependent clause does not express a complete thought on its own, and it only makes sense in combination with the independent clause.
If we try to make a complete sentence from a dependent clause, then we create a sentence fragment, which is a grammatical mistake (e.g., “Because we have a meeting”). We should generally avoid sentence fragments in formal writing.
Subordinating conjunctions examples
Here is a list of some common subordinating conjunctions categorized by meaning with example sentences. Some of them appear in more than one category because they can be used with different meanings.
| Meaning | Subordinating conjunction |
Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Time | Before | Check your passport before you travel. |
| After | I’ll join you after I’ve finished this email. | |
| When | They continued when the storm was over. | |
| While | She listens to podcasts while she’s jogging. | |
| As | It started to rain as we left the house. | |
| Whenever | It crashes whenever I try to update it. | |
| Once | Give me a call once you’ve finished. | |
| Since | She’s grown since I saw her last. | |
| Until | I had to wait until they had finished. | |
| Place | Wherever | Wherever she goes, she always sends a postcard. |
| Where | I found it on the bench where we had been sitting. | |
| Condition | If | Students can only take the exam if they are registered. |
| Whether | We need to find out whether it is safe or not. | |
| Unless | You should not park here unless you have a permit. | |
| Even if | I recommend the movie even if you don’t like sports. | |
| As long as | The price is OK as long as the shipping is free. | |
| Provided that | We can borrow it provided that we return it today. | |
| Purpose | So that | I double spaced it so that it’s easier to read. |
| In order that | Additional investment is required in order that we can achieve this goal. | |
| Contrast | Although | Although she was tired, she finished it before going to bed. |
| Whereas | This bag is a bit small whereas this one has lots of extra pockets. | |
| While | While they acknowledge the issue, they are not prepared to take any action. | |
| Even though | I like to work in that room even though it’s a bit dark. | |
| Result | So that | Customers are complaining so that now it’s impossible to ignore the problem. |
| Reason | Because | The picnic is canceled because rain is forecast. |
| As | I bought a new laptop as the old one was getting very slow. | |
| Since | Since you’re here, why don’t we discuss it now? | |
| Manner | As if | We had talked about it last time, but he reacted as if I had never mentioned it before. |
| As though | You’re dressed as though it were the middle of winter. |
Coordinating and subordinating conjunctions
A coordinating conjunction connects independent clauses (as well as phrases and words). But a subordinating conjunction connects an dependent clause to an independent clause.
When a coordinating conjunction connects two clauses, both clauses express complete thoughts that make sense on their own because they are independent clauses.
When a subordinating conjunction connects two clauses, the clause it belongs to is called a dependent clause. The dependent clause does not express a complete thought on its own, and only makes sense in combination with the independent clause.
When distinguishing between subordinating and coordinating conjunctions, it is very useful to keep in mind that there are only seven words that are used as coordinating conjunctions in English, although they can have other functions. You can remember them using the mnemonic FANBOYS (“for,” “and,” “nor,” “but,” “or,” “yet,” and “so”).
The QuillBot Grammar Checker can help ensure you’re using coordinating and subordinating conjunctions correctly.
Commas with subordinating conjunctions
We usually don’t put a comma before a subordinating conjunction when it is used in the middle of a sentence.
But if we use a subordinating conjunction at the beginning of the sentence, then we generally put a comma at the end of its clause.
An exception to this is using a comma before because in the middle of the sentence in order to create a change of emphasis.
[No comma: Emphasis on why I’m not coming]
I’ve decided not to come, because I should really finish my assignment today.
[Comma: Emphasis on the fact that I’m not coming]
Frequently asked questions about subordinating conjunctions
- Is “when” a subordinating conjunction?
-
Yes, when is a subordinating conjunction used to introduce a dependent clause that gives information about time (e.g., “They continued when the storm was over”).
It is also used as an interrogative adverb in questions about time (e.g., “When do you want to eat?”). And it can function as a relative adverb to specify a time (e.g., “I remember the day when I was given my first cell phone”).
The QuillBot Grammar Checker can help ensure you’re using subordinating conjunctions, interrogative adverbs, and relative adverbs correctly.
- Is “which” a subordinating conjunction?
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No, which is classified as a relative pronoun. Although a relative clause is a type of dependent clause, a relative pronoun is not the same as a subordinating conjunction because it acts as a subject/object or refers back to a noun, whereas a subordinating conjunction is a linking device.
It is also used as an interrogative word (e.g., “Which shirt looks best?”).
The QuillBot Grammar Checker can help ensure you’re using relative pronouns and interrogative words correctly.
- Is “because” a subordinating conjunction?
-
Yes, because is a subordinating conjunction. It is used to introduce a dependent clause that gives a reason for/cause of something (e.g., “The picnic is canceled because rain is forecast”).
Note that the phrase because of is not a subordinating conjunction. It functions as a preposition meaning “on account of” (e.g., “The picnic is canceled because of the rain”).
The QuillBot Grammar Checker can help ensure you’re using subordinating conjunctions and prepositions correctly.
