What is the Difference Between Conjunctions and Transitions

The main difference between conjunctions and transitions is that conjunctions connect two clauses, but transitions connect two sentences or paragraphs.

Both conjunctions and transitions are words and phrases that connect ideas together. Conjunctions are words that connect two phrases or clauses, whereas transitions are words or phrases that indicate the relationship between two sentences or paragraphs. However, their main difference is their function.

Key Areas Covered

1. What are Conjunctions 
     – Definition, Function, Types
2. What are Transitions
     – Definition, Function, Types
3. What is the Difference Between Conjunctions and Transitions
     – Comparison of Key Differences

Key Terms

Conjunctions, Coordinating Conjunctions, Subordinating Conjunctions, Transitions

What are Conjunctions

A conjunction is a word that connects two clauses. There are two main types of conjunctions in the English language as coordinating conjunctions and subordinating conjunctions.

Subordinating Conjunctions

Subordinating conjunctions link a dependent clause to an independent clause. They have two main functions – to provide a smooth transition between ideas to indicate a relationship with time, place, cause, result, etc. and to indicate the extent of importance so that the reader can understand what is the most important clause in the sentence.

For example,

He killed her because she was going to expose him.

As he told me earlier, the exam has been postponed.

Even though he has only published two books, he is considered one of the greatest writers of our time.

Coordinating Conjunctions

Coordinating conjunctions link two independent clauses and form a compound sentence. There are only seven coordinating conjunctions in the English language: For, And, Nor, But, Or, Yet and So.

For example,

The little boy cried, so I bought him an ice cream.

I want to help you, but I don’t how to.

In addition, there is another type of conjunctions as correlative conjunctions. These are pairs of conjunctions which are used to join equal sentence elements together. These include pairs like neither… nor, not only… but also, both… and, etc.

What are Transitions

Transitions are words or phrases that connect one idea to the next. We commonly call these transition words or transition phrases. They can show the relationship between two sentences or between two paragraphs. In fact, transitions are used to connect two sentences or two paragraphs. In addition to connecting ideas, transitions can also introduce a shift, indicate opposition, emphasis, result, etc.

Given below are a list of common transition words and phrases, categorized according to their function.

Furthermore, transitions usually follow a full stop and form a new sentence. In addition, they are also separated from the following sentence by a comma.

Difference Between Conjunctions and Transitions

Definitions

Conjunctions are words that connect two phrases or clauses. On the other hand, transitions are words or phrases that indicate the relationship between two sentences or paragraphs.

Function

Conjunctions connect two clauses, but transitions connect two sentences or paragraphs.

Grammaticality

Besides, removing a conjunction from a sentence will affect the grammaticality of the sentence; however, removing a transition will not affect the grammaticality of the writing.

Structure

Conjunctions are not always set apart from the rest of the clause or sentence by commas, but transitions are usually set apart by commas.

Types

There are two main types of conjunctions as coordinating conjunctions and subordinating conjunctions; on the other hand, we can categorize transitions based on their function (ex: indicating contrast, similarity, examples, adding information, etc.)

Conclusion

The main difference between conjunctions and transitions is that conjunctions connect two clauses, whereas transitions connect two sentences or paragraphs. Moreover, removing a conjunction from a sentence will affect the grammaticality of the sentence; however, removing a transition will not affect the grammaticality of the writing.

Reference:

1. Campbell, Gregory M, et al. “Transition Words.” Dowell’s Home Away From Homepage, Michigan State University, Available here.

Image Courtesy:

1. “Conjunctions” By attanatta (CC BY 2.0) via Flickr
2. “Photo of Person Writing on Notebook” (CC0) via Pexels