Is the word both a conjunction

As a conjunction, ‘both’ should only be used with ‘and’; its use with other conjunctive phrases (e.g., “as well as” and “along with”) is not preferred. In the examples below, “both…and” is used as a conjunction relating two nouns, two adjectives, and two verbs, respectively.

What is yet an example of?

Yet is defined as nevertheless or but. An example of yet is although a hiker has back pain they continue their hike up Mount Everest. Yet means at this time, up to now or at a future time. An example of yet is someone not getting to take a walk before dark, such as “It is dark but he has not taken his walk yet.”

Does yet mean but?

Yet as a conjunction means ‘but’ or ‘nevertheless’. We use it to show contrast. It often occurs after and: So many questions and yet so few answers.5 วันที่ผ่านมา

What is a conjunction word list?

A Look at Subordinate Words: A List of Subordinating Conjunctions

Although As if As much as
Even Even though If only
In order that Lest Now since
Provided Rather than So that

What are the 6 conjunctions?

And, but, for, nor, or, so, and yet—these are the seven coordinating conjunctions. To remember all seven, you might want to learn one of these acronyms: FANBOYS, YAFNOBS, or FONYBAS. Coordinating conjunctions connect words, phrases, and clauses.

What is difference between but and yet?

So they have the same meaning, same function as conjunctions. “Yet” sounds more formal than “but,” so we tend to use it in a more formal situation. In most everyday situations, we use “but” to connect our ideas. It would sound too formal, too polite, to use “yet” in most everyday conversations.

How do you use but yet?

Use either but or yet when conveying two ideas that are in contrast to each other in order to separate them. His family lives in Tampa, but he lives in Iowa or His family lives in Tampa, yet he lives in Iowa. Do NOT say His family lives in Tampa, but yet he lives in Iowa. That is a redundancy.

How do you use conjunctions yet?

as a conjunction (connecting two words, phrases, or clauses): The weather was cold, yet bright and sunny. Her advice seems strange, yet I believe she’s right. I’m amazed that you haven’t told him anything yet. She hasn’t yet decided if she wants to come or not.

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Summary

The word both refers to each of two people or things. Before a noun, use both. Before a pronoun, use both of.

Examples

  • Both destinations are now open to tourists.
  • Both of us are happy.

Both and both of can be used interchangeably before a determiner.

Example

  • Both (of) these cakes are delicious.

With both–and as a linking expression, maintain parallel structure in formal texts.

Examples

  • Poor: The signs are both in English and Spanish.
  • Better: The signs are in both English and Spanish.

Use neither or either instead of both in negative sentences.

Examples

  • Neither of us is happy.

    Instead of “Both of us are not happy.”

  • I can’t find either of my shoes.

    Instead of “I can’t find both my shoes.”

No commas are needed around both.

Examples

  • Both my manager and I have replied to your emails.
  • This book makes me both happy and sad.

What is both?

The word both refers to each of two people or things.

Examples

  • Both are my friends.
  • Both reports are due today.
  • Both almonds and walnuts are good for health.
  • Farley has lost both his bags.
  • Maya likes both books and music.
  • They were both excited about the trip.

Both can be used as a pronoun in place of a noun phrase.

Examples

  • Both have grown old.

    The pronoun both refers to two people.

  • Both of them like music.
  • I’ll take both, thanks.

Both can also be used adjectivally (as a determiner or predeterminer) to emphasize a reference to two people or things as opposed to just one.

Examples

  • Both stores are true.

    As a determiner before the noun “stories.”

  • Both these stories are true.

    As a predeterminer before the noun phrase “these stories.”

  • I need both tickets, please.

Both can be paired with and to stress the inclusion of two people or things. It thus works as a conjunction, a word that helps join two parts of a sentence.

Examples

  • Both my dog and my cat have grown old.
  • Lulu likes both pizza and pasta.
  • To reach Koh Samui, you have to take both a bus and a catamaran.
  • Rita detests both fruits and vegetables.

Note

It is sometimes thought that the word both is unnecessary when it is already clear that reference is being made to two people or things. But both is a useful and necessary word to refer to each of the two.

Example

  • Both her parents were teachers, and she grew up believing that education was important.

    Emphasizes that each of the two parents was a teacher; more emphatic than simply saying “Her parents were teachers.”

In this article, we discuss how to use both correctly in all its uses.

Is both singular or plural?

Both as a pronoun refers to two people or things and is always plural.

Examples

  • Both is/are correct.
  • Both wants/want these tickets.
  • Both likes/like cheese.

When used adjectivally, both again refers to two people or things. Therefore, it is used with plural instead of singular nouns.

Examples

  • Both option/options are correct.
  • Both my sister/sisters want these tickets.
  • Both cat/cats like cheese.

In both–and constructions as well, use plural instead of singular verbs.

Examples

  • Both Farley’s wallet and his watch is/are lost.
  • Both the table and the chairs is/are wobbly.
  • Both tea and coffee is/are served here.

Both vs. both of

Both and both of can both occur before a determiner, with no difference in meaning. (A determiner is a word that appears before a noun and qualifies its reference—these houses, her children, your ideas).

Examples

  • Both these houses are for sale.
  • She claims to love both of her children equally.
  • Both your ideas sound great to me.
  • Both of my wrists hurt when I use the phone.

Most editors will delete of in such a construction (both of these houses), since the preposition of doesn’t add to the meaning of the sentence. Its use is still grammatically acceptable and quite common in speech.

When it is clear what is being referred to, determiners are often omitted with both. Directly before a noun, only both can be used, not both of.

Examples

  • Correct: Both houses are for sale.
  • Correct: Both children now go to school.
  • Correct: Both ideas sound great to me.

Before a pronoun like them or us, use both of, not simply both.

Examples

  • Correct: Both of them are correct.

    Not “Both them are correct.”

  • Correct: They have invited both of us to the party.

But both is perfectly fine after a pronoun.

Examples

  • You can ask them both what they think.
  • They both play the piano.
  • We both love to travel.
  • They have invited us both to the party.
  • I want you both to listen to me carefully.

Tip

There is no difference in meaning between “I like them both” and “I like both of them.” However, the “both of + pronoun” construction is generally preferred after a preposition (on, of, for, with, etc.).

Examples

  • I have worked with both of them.

    Seen more often than “I have worked with

    them both

    .”

  • These passes are for both of us.

    Used more often than “These are for

    us both

    .”

Position of both in a sentence

Both can appear before or after the phrase it modifies.

Examples

  • Correct: Both of them work from home.

    or

    Correct: They both work from home.

  • Correct: Both their cats are happy about it.

    or

    Correct: Their cats are both happy about it.

Some writers prefer “Both of them are happy” to “They are both happy,” arguing that the reader might be misled into expecting more information to appear in the second sentence: They are both happy and something else—what? In reality though, readers are used to parsing a sentence with both correctly from context. Both the following sentences are perfectly acceptable and mean the same thing.

Example

  • Correct: Both of them are happy.

    or

    Correct: They are both happy.

Interestingly, in sentences like “They are both happy,” both appears in an adverbial position (before the adjective). But it still refers to the noun phrase (their cats) rather than describing the adjective (happy). Therefore, it still functions as a pronoun rather than an adverb. Both often takes adverbial positions in sentences, still performing the duties of a pronoun by referring to a noun.

Examples

  • They both want to go to Thailand.

    between subject (they) and main verb (want)

  • They have both already been to Malaysia.

    after auxiliary verb (have)

  • They can both paint.

    after modal verb (can)

  • They are both freelancers.

    after be as the main verb (are)

Tip

When the main verb in a sentence is the be verb (are, were), the word both generally appears after rather than before the verb.

Example

  • We were both happy.

    Preferred to “We both were happy.” But “Both of us were happy” is perfectly fine.

  • They are both doctors.

    Preferred to “They both are doctors.” But “Both of them are doctors” is perfectly fine.

Bothand as linking term

The word both combines with and to emphasize the inclusion of two people or things. Use bothand to join two parts of equal importance in a sentence.

Examples

  • Anita is both kind and intelligent.

    Emphasizes that she has both qualities and not just one; more emphatic than “Anita is

    kind and intelligent.”

  • Lulu likes both cupcakes and muffins.
  • We are open on both Saturday and Sunday.
  • You need to submit both an application and a statement of purpose.
  • Both Anita and Maya have applied for this job.
  • You should pack both shoes and sandals.

Both and and thus form a pair of correlative conjunctions. In formal writing, the two elements joined by bothand should be grammatically balanced and parallel in structure.

Examples

  • Poor: They have offices both in London and Paris.

    Both and and should join two balanced elements in a sentence. “In London” is a prepositional phrase, while “Paris” is a noun. Take “in” out of the construction to create balance.

    Better: They have offices in both London and Paris.

    Both and and now join two balanced elements, which are both nouns.

  • Poor: We are open both on weekends and weekdays.
    Better: We are open both on weekends and on weekdays.
  • Poor: This contract needs to be signed both by Anita and me.
    Better: This contract needs to be signed by both Anita and me.

Caution

In formal writing (such as academic, business, and other official texts), ensure parallel structure. Don’t use both–and to join two unbalanced or mismatched elements in a sentence.

Example

  • Poor: I have worked both in sales and manufacturing.
    Better: I have worked in both sales and manufacturing.

Both-and can join two pairs of plural nouns to refer to two classes or categories of things.

Examples

  • Both cats and dogs make great companions.
  • You should eat both almonds and walnuts.

Both is not generally used with other connectives like as well as and together with in formal writing, although such constructions are occasionally seen in informal usage. These connectives are quasi-conjunctions, so using them in place of and is semantically possible but causes syntactic confusion, which is probably why most writers and editors avoid such usage altogether.

Example

  • Poor: Both the cat as well as the dog like pizza.
    Better: Both the cat and the dog like pizza.

Both in negatives: Both vs. neither and either

In general, use neither instead of both in negative sentences: for example, use “neither can” instead of “both can’t.”

Examples

  • Neither of the contestants can bake.

    Preferred to “Both the contestants can’t bake.”

  • Neither of them is an astronaut.

    Instead of “Both of them are not astronauts.”

Similarly, use neither–nor instead of both–and in negative sentences.

Examples

  • Neither my mother nor my father can bake.

    Preferred to “Both my mother and my father cannot bake.”

  • Neither the bus nor the train is available.

    Instead of “Both the bus and the train aren’t available.”

Both may sometimes be used in negative statements when the word not needs to be emphasized.

Example

  • “I thought they were experts.”
    “Well, clearly, they are both not experts.”

Note

With a negative verb, use either instead of both to refer to two people or things.

Examples

  • It isn’t clear from both studies/either study whether caffeine is good or bad for you.
  • Farley hasn’t heard back from both/either of the places he applied to last month.

With either-or constructions, not both may be used to emphasize the exclusive nature of the options presented.

Examples

  • You can have shoes that are either pretty or comfortable, not both.
  • This implies that people can be either wealthy or decent, not both.

Use of the: Both or both the?

The article the is often omitted after both, although using it is not incorrect.

Examples

  • Both (the) movies deserve an Oscar.
  • We should talk to both (the) students about respecting people’s boundaries.
  • Because both (the) applicants are equally qualified, it’s impossible to choose.

Determiners are often omitted after both when it is clear what is being referred to.

Example

  • Both these cupcakes are mine.

    or

    Both cupcakes are mine.

Commas with both

In general, a comma isn’t needed before or after both in a sentence.

Examples

  • Poco likes both pizza and pasta.
  • Both Mauritius and Fiji are beautiful countries.
  • Mauritius and Fiji are both beautiful countries.

A comma may be required for a reason unrelated to the use of both—for example, after a subordinate clause or before a nonrestrictive clause. Use the comma then as usual.

Examples

  • If this is right, both of us are wrong.
  • I bought both, which is funny because neither of them fits me.

Examples from literature

Here are some examples from published writing that show how the word both is used in sentences.

Examples

  • They had daubed my face and both my hands with a sort of ointment, very pleasant to the smell, which, in a few minutes, removed all the smart of their arrows.
  • I promised myself both of these when my creation should be complete.
  • ‘Really, girls, you are both to be blamed,’ said Meg.
  • A gross deception has been practised on both of us.

    — Oscar Wilde, The Importance of Being Earnest (1895)

  • He had either been engaged to somebody or quarrelled with her family and old Parry disliked them both equally, which was a great bond.
  • The best marriages, like the best lives, were both happy and unhappy.
  • The word that I’m thinking of right now is genre, one of those French words, like crêpe, that no one can pronounce both correctly and without sounding pretentious.

    — Michael Chabon, Introduction to McSweeney’s Enchanted Chamber of Astonishing Stories (2004)

Table of Contents

  1. Is and a connective or a conjunction?
  2. What are and but and/or called?
  3. What are the 10 examples of interjection?
  4. What are the 6 conjunctions?
  5. How many conjunctions are there?
  6. Who is a conjunction or not?
  7. What kind of word is if?
  8. How do you introduce conjunctions to students?
  9. What is a conjunction for kids?
  10. What is a conjunction Year 1?
  11. Why we use conjunctions for kids?
  12. What are conjunctions for grade 4?
  13. How do you join a simple sentence?
  14. What are joining sentences?
  15. Which is an example of a simple sentence?
  16. How do you join sentences with conjunctions?

As a conjunction, ‘both’ should only be used with ‘and’; its use with other conjunctive phrases (e.g., “as well as” and “along with”) is not preferred. In the examples below, “both…and” is used as a conjunction relating two nouns, two adjectives, and two verbs, respectively.

Is and a connective or a conjunction?

The most common conjunctions–and, but, for, or, nor, yet, and so. they signal the relationship between sentences and paragraphs. Time connectives refer to the passage of time. Common time connectives at L1: First, Next then e.g. First I buttered the bread then I put the jam on.

What are and but and/or called?

Words like “and,” “or,” and “but” are known as coordinating conjunctions. (There are other coordinating conjunctions, but these three are by far the most common.)

What are the 10 examples of interjection?

Interjection

  • Hurrah! We won the game! ( Emotion of joy)
  • Alas! I failed the exam! ( Emotion of sorrow)
  • Wow! What a beautiful car! ( Emotion of surprise)
  • Oh! I forgot to bring my purse! ( Emotion of sorrow)
  • Ouch! It hurts! ( Emotion of pain)
  • Eww! It tastes so bad! (
  • Yahoo! I got a job! (
  • Huh! I don’t care! (

What are the 6 conjunctions?

The most common subordinating conjunctions in the English language include after, although, as, as far as, as if, as long as, as soon as, as though, because, before, even if, even though, every time, if, in order that, since, so, so that, than, that, though, unless, until, when, whenever, where, whereas, wherever, and …

How many conjunctions are there?

There are three basic types of conjunctions: coordinating, subordinating, and correlative….Subordinating conjunctions.

Relationship Common subordinating conjunctions
Contrast although, though, whereas

Who is a conjunction or not?

A CONJUNCTION is a word that connects or joins together words, phrases, clauses, or sentences. There are two kinds of conjunctions, a primary class of COORDINATING conjunctions and a secondary class called SUBORDINATING or SUBORDINATE conjunctions.

What kind of word is if?

conjunctions

How do you introduce conjunctions to students?

Have students write down all the words they can think of that are conjunctions. Remove duplicates, give them some example sentences using a different conjunction, and ask for more. You can also add a new conjunction into the sentence and let the kids pick it out. Then create a wall with all the suggestions.

What is a conjunction for kids?

Conjunctions are words that connect or link phrases, sentences, clauses, or words together. You can think of this words as words that join phrases or different parts of a sentence together. Common conjunctions include the following: -and. -but.

What is a conjunction Year 1?

When we write a sentence we always use a capital letter at the start and punctuation at the end (usually a full stop). We also often use joining words when writing sentences. Joining words are also known as conjunctions. Watch this short video to find out more about joining words.

Why we use conjunctions for kids?

A conjunction is a word that joins together words, phrases, or parts of sentences. The three most-used conjunctions are and, or, and but. Conjunctions can join words together, like in this sentence: I’d like five peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, please.

What are conjunctions for grade 4?

A conjunction is a word that joins nouns or verbs or sentences. In other words, words that join different ideas together are termed as a conjunction.

How do you join a simple sentence?

Use a coordinating contraction (for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so) WITH a comma to join two simple sentences together.

What are joining sentences?

June 27, 2013 – Sentence synthesis means combining two or more simple sentences into one new sentence. The new sentence may be a simple sentence, a complex sentence or a compound sentence. In this lesson we will learn the different techniques used to combine two simple sentences into another simple sentence.

Which is an example of a simple sentence?

A simple sentence has the most basic elements that make it a sentence: a subject, a verb, and a completed thought. Examples of simple sentences include the following: Joe waited for the train. The train was late.

How do you join sentences with conjunctions?

Combine using conjunctions

  1. He will not spend his money. He will not invest it. (
  2. John is a doctor. His wife is a doctor. (
  3. He is very ill. The doctors do not expect him to recover. (
  4. Tom was down with flu.
  5. Iron is found in India.
  6. I had no ticket.
  7. John did not work hard.
  8. He left home early.

The term both is commonly used in technical writing to indicate similarity between samples, datasets, or values. However, the dictionary definition of ‘both’ — “one and the other” — does little to clarify the meaning or proper use of this word. Furthermore, ‘both’ can be used as either a pronoun or a conjunction, and each of these contexts has its own grammatical rules. As a result, there is often confusion about how to properly use this term in technical writing. This post outlines a few simple rules governing the use of both.

‘Both’ as a pronoun

As a pronoun, ‘both’ indicates that two items are being discussed and is therefore used in place of the phrase “the two.” The use of ‘both’ to discuss three or more entities is grammatically incorrect.

  • Both samples were measured. (i.e., The two samples were measured.)
  • There were two outliers, and we removed both.

‘Both’ as a conjunction

As a conjunction, ‘both’ should only be used with ‘and’; its use with other conjunctive phrases (e.g., “as well as” and “along with”) is not preferred. The pairing of ‘both’ with ‘and’ forms a grammatical construct known as a correlative conjunction (other examples of correlative conjunctions are “either…or” and “not only…but also”).

In the examples below, “both…and” is used as a conjunction relating two nouns, two adjectives, and two verbs, respectively.

  • Both measurement A and measurement B had a value of 1.
  • The assay was both simple and rapid.
  • We both mixed and heated the sample.

Use with the phrase «the same»

Furthermore, as a conjunction, ‘both’ emphasizes that the two entities being discussed (whether nouns, verbs, or adjectives) are included equally. Therefore, the use of the term “the same” with ‘both’ is often redundant. You can drop one of these terms to make your writing more concise:

  • Both measurement A and measurement B had the same value. (Incorrect)
  • Measurement A and measurement B had the same value; both measurement A and measurement B had a value of one. (Correct)

In contrast, the use of “the same” is acceptable when using ‘both’ as a pronoun.

  • Both measurements had the same value.
  • Both trials had the same number of participants.
  • The same conditions were used for both samples.

We hope that these few simple rules and examples will help to guide you in your use of the term both. If you have any comments or questions, please email us at [email protected]. Best wishes!

Which one is correct sentence?
The girls both danced.
Or
Both girls danced.
We face the problem of placing both at the right place in a sentence if we don’t know different functions of the word both. In this post we will learn where both should be placed in a sentence.

What does both mean ?
Both can be an adjective, a pronoun and a conjunction.

  1. Both dogs dwell inside an abandon house: here both acts as adjective.
  2. Both dwell inside an abandon house: here both acts as pronoun.
  3. Both dog and cat dwell inside an abandon house: here both acts as conjunction because it connects two things.

How do we use both in a sentence?
When both is used with a pronoun:

  • Both follows a single pronoun. When we use both with a pronoun, we say ‘They both play football’ or  ‘Both of them play football’. More examples below:
  1. They both wanted another dog = Both of them wanted another dog.
  2. We both read novel = Both of us read novel.
  3. They both wanted a baby = Both of them wanted a baby.

According to Penguin Dictionary of American English, we can say both of them, but not both them.

«Both often goes with «of »  when a pronoun follows: «Give me both of them.» You would not say «Give me both them.» But «The referee penalized both them and us» is correct, because both always demands two things.  
Penguin Dictionary of American English says that we should prefer both girls or both of the girls to both the girls. If you choose to write both the girls, it demands to add one more phrase with the «and«.  Here we make the sentence «Both the girls and the boys« sounds perfect for a sentence.

  • When both is used with a single noun, both precedes a single noun, for example ‘Both boys played cricket’, not ‘Boys both played cricket’.

                       But if a sentence has a linking verb (is, are, was, were), both either follows a single noun after the linking verb or precedes a noun.
The men were both happy = Both men were happy.
Passengers were both tired = Both passengers were tired.
Both women are beautiful = Women are both beautiful.
                  If there are two nouns or a double noun, like sister and brother, cat and dog, son and daughter, etc; both can follow or precede them. More examples:

  1. Sister and brother both qualified the exam = Both sister and brother qualified the exam.
  2. Both John and I trespassed the land = John and I both trespassed the land.

Both of must be followed by a pronoun, not by a noun.
We should write both of them, both of us.
However, we can also write both girls or both of the girls , both men or both of the men, both boys or both of the boys, both animals or both of the animals, include the when both of is followed by a noun; we should avoid writing both the girls, both the men, both the boys as these phrases seem to be half not complete. For more see what Penguin Dictionary says at the top of the post.

Both uses «and» , not as well as,  to connect two things in a sentence, and the things must be parallel in structure.
Both sister and brother qualified the exam.   
Both sister as well as brother qualified the exam.  
What Penguin Dictionary of American English says:

When both is combined with «and» (forming a pair of correlative conjunctions), what follows one must match grammatically what follows the other. If a clause follows the both, a similar clause must follow the and. A phrase must be paralleled by a similar phrase, a verb by verb, a noun by a noun. For example, They like both playing and reading. My mother loves both to buy new jewelry and to sell old jewelry.

Can we use The with both?

Penguin Dictionary says, 

Some authorities object to «the» before both. It is at least unnecessary in ‘She scorns the both of them‘ and strained in ‘The both men were disappointed.’ In each instance, either omit »the» or change »both» to two.

In a nutshell
Use of both in a sentence:

When we use both with a noun, we can write a sentence in these patterns: 

The babies are both cute = Both of the babies are cute = Both babies are cute.

Avoid the pattern Both the babies are cute, because both, in these pattern, demands one more noun. The sentence Both the babies and the mom are cute sounds perfect and correct.

When we use both with a pronoun, we can say either we both/they both etc or both of us/both of them; the meaning is the same.

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Essentials of English

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Handbook of English Grammar and Usage

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