level 1
It’s a preposition. «For» is only a conjunction when it has the meaning «since» or «because.» «I ate dinner, for I was hungry.» It connects two clauses of equal rank or weight («I ate dinner» and «I was hungry,» in this case). Prepositions come before nouns or noun phrases (or gerunds, like «unblocking a sink») to show spatial, time, directional, or abstract relationships (like purpose) between that noun and other words in the sentence.
level 1
You’ll rarely see “for” used as a conjunction anymore, at least in American English; most people go with “because” which is much less pretentious sounding
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∙ 9y ago
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The word for can be either a preposition or a conjunction. As a
conjunction, it means «because.»
Example: We headed home, for we were very tired.
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∙ 9y ago
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Q: Is for a preposition or a conjunction?
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A conjunction is a word that links words, phrases, or clauses. There are three types of conjunctions.
coordinating conjunctions for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so.
correlative conjunctions both…and, either…or, neither…nor, not only…but also.
subordinating conjunctions after, although, because, if.
Content
- Coordinating conjunctions
- Correlative conjunctions
- Subordinating conjunctions.
1. Coordinating conjunctions
Coordinating conjunctions may join single words, or they may join groups of words, but they must always join similar elements: e.g. subject+subject, verb phrase+verb phrase, sentence+sentence.
Coordinating conjunctions are: for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so.
Conjunction | What is linked | Example |
---|---|---|
and | noun phrase + noun phrase |
|
but | sentence + sentence |
|
or | verb + verb |
|
so | sentence + sentence |
|
Note : A noun phrase is either a single noun or pronoun or a group of words containing a noun or a pronoun that function together as a noun or pronoun, as the subject or object of a verb.
- The student that I saw coming into school at nine o’clock has just left.
- “ The students … nine o’clock’ is a long noun phrase, but it functions as the subject of the main verb ’have just left “
2. Correlative conjunctions
Correlative conjunctions are always used in pairs. They join similar elements.
Correlative conjunctions are: both…and, not only…but also, either…or, neither…nor, whether…or.
Correlative conjunctions | What is linked | Example |
---|---|---|
both…and | subject + subject |
|
either…or | noun + noun |
|
neither…nor | subject + subject |
|
not only…but also | sentence + sentence |
|
3. Subordinating conjunctions.
A subordinating conjunction is a word which joins together a dependent (subordinate) clause and an independent clause.
A clause is a unit which contains a subject and a verb. For example, «It was snowing» is a clause; the subject is «it», «it«, and the verb is «was snowing«.
A dependent clause is a clause which cannot exist on its own; it needs a main (or independent) clause to go with it.
Example: Because it was snowing, I drove to work.
This sentence contains two clauses,»Because it was snowing» and «I drove to work«. The first clause does not mean anything on its own. . If you say «Because it was snowing» and nothing else, people will not be able to understand what you mean. However «I drove to work» is an independent clause — we can understand what it means even if it is alone. In this example “because” is the subordinate conjunction.
Prepositions
Prepositions are a class of words that indicate relationships between nouns, pronouns and other words in a sentence. Most often they come before a noun.
The good news is that they never change their form, regardless of the case, gender etc. of the word they are referring to
Content
- Simple or Compound prepositions
- Prepositions of movement
- Prepositions of Place
- Prepositions of time
1. Simple or Compound prepositions
Prepositions are classified as simple or compound.
Simple prepositions are single word prepositions — across, after, at, before, between, by, during, from, in, into, of, on, to, through, under, with and without are all single word prepositions.
- The newspaper is on the chair.
- The cat is under the table.
Compound prepositions are more than one word — in between and because of — are prepositions made up of two words — in front of, on behalf of are prepositions made up of three words.
- My office is in between the bank and the post office.
- .
- My car is in front of my flat.
2. Prepositions of movement
Prepositions can be used to show movement. For example: to, through, across.
We use to to show movement with the aim of a specific destination.
- I moved to Paris in 1999.
- He went to the cinema at 3 pm.
We use through to show movement from one side of an enclosed space to the other side.
- The train went through the tunnel.
- He walked quickly through the door.
We use across to show movement from one side of a surface or line to another.
- She swam across the lake.
- He walked across the road.
3. Prepositions of Place
Prepositions can be used to show where something is located.
The prepostions — at, on, in
We use at to show a specific place or position.
- I live at 36 Palace Road.
- I am waiting at the bus stop.
We use on to show position on a horizontal or vertical surface.
- There is a lot snow on the roof.
- The dog is sitting on the chair.
We also use on to show a position on streets, roads, etc.
- I used to live on Palace Road.
- There is a petrol station on the corner of the street.
We use in to show that something is enclosed or surrounded.
- She is in a taxi.
- The cat is in the garden.
We also use in to show position within land-areas (towns, counties, states, countries, and continents).
- I used to live in Nottingham.
- I live in America.
More prepositions of place
- They ran after the thief.
- I found my handbag among my luggage.
- The student was sitting at her table.
- My flat is behind the supermarket.
- The plates are in the cupboard.
- My car is parked in front of the supermarket.
- The post office is by / next to / besides the bank.
- The picture is hanging on the wall.
- The notice is above the door.
- I put the tablecloth over the table.
- The temperature was below zero degrees.
- The boy was sitting under a tree.
4. Prepositions of time
Prepositions can be used to show when something happens. (time, day, date, month, year, morning, afternoon, evening,night, season)
Prepositions of time — at, on, in.
- I go to work at 8.00 every day. (time)
- I’ll see you on Tuesday. (day)
- I have an exam on the 21st. (date)
- My birthday is in December. (month)
- I was born in 1965. (year)
- I get up in the morning. (morning)
- I have a meeting in the afternoon (afternoon)
- I go home in the evening after work. (evening)
- I go to bed at night. (night)
- It usually snows in the winter. (season)
Tests:
The first step in building a strong understanding of grammar is knowing all the parts of a sentence, because every word in every sentence fills a role. In this English grammar lesson, you’ll learn about articles (a
/the
), prepositions (for
, by
, to
, in
…), conjunctions (and
, but
, when
, if
…), and pronouns (he
, it
, these
, all
…). Learn exactly what each of these elements of the sentence do and how they interact with the other parts of the sentence. Once you’ve watched this video and understood it, make sure you watch my classes about other parts of speech: nouns and adjectives, and verbs and adverbs.
Quiz
Test your understanding of this English lesson
Test your understanding of the English lesson by answering these questions. You will get the answers and your score at the end of the quiz.
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#2
Prepositional phrases always modify something. Conjuctions always fit into a category, but I’m not sure your list is complete (but I can’t think of other type right now).
The best way to distinguish them is to look at both items that are being linked. If they are equal (2 nouns or 2 phrases or 2 clauses or 2 verbs…) then a conjunction is usually found. If they are different (phrase and a noun) then it is usually a preposition. The word ‘but’ when used to mean ‘except’ is a preposition, and when used like the word ‘and,’ it is a conjunction.
1. conjunction (forgiven and unaneled…)
2. conjunction (…water and no ice)
3. preposition (…no one waiting except me)
4. preposition (…except me)
5. preposition (…except to live quietly)