Types of Conjunctions

Conjunctions are words that join or introduce clauses. There are two major types of conjunctions, with some minor categories, noted below:

1. Coordinating Conjunctions

Simple Linking Conjunctions, such as and, or, but
Correlative Conjunctions, such as either...or, neither...or, both...and
Adverbial Coordinating Conjunctions, such as then, also, therefore

2. Subordinating Conjunctions

Complementizing Conjunctions, such as that, if, whether, lest
Relative Conjunctions, such as as, when, because, while

Coordinating Conjunctions

Mirad has three types of coordinating conjunctions, as shown in the following charts:

Simple Linking Conjunctions

Simple Linking Conjunctions
CONJUNCTION	EXAMPLE
ay....and	At oveko ay at ako. I will compete and I will win.
ey....or	Bosu ey at tuyapyexo et. Be still or I will spank you.
oy....but	It yeka oy it oka. He tried but he lost.
oey....nor	At voy tilo oey at telo. I shall not drink, nor shall I eat.
bayhus....yet	At ayse hyas at fe, bayhus at voy se iva. I have everything I want, yet I'm not happy.
avhus....so	Ha amar yapaye, avhus et yefe sumpier. The sun has risen, so you must get up out of bed.

Correlative Coordinating Conjunctions

The following conjunctions come in pairs:

Correlative Coordinating Conjunctions
CONJUNCTION	EXAMPLE
hyaewa...ay....both...and	At hyaewa dyede ay dre Mirad. I both read and write Mirad.
hyeawa...ey....either...or	Et yafe hyeawa beser ey pier. Se eta kebiun. You can either stay or leave. It's your choice.
hyoawa...oey....neither...nor	Yat hyoawa move oey tile. We neither smoke nor drink.
voy hyawa...oy (gay)....not only...but (also)	At voy hyawa deuze oy gay at daze. I not only sing but also I dance.
ven....avhus....if...then	Ven et te ha dud, avhus du has. If you know the answer, then say it.
ha...ha....the...the	Ha ga et tixe, ha ga et akujo. The more you study, the more you'll succeed.
ga yukay...vyel....rather...than	At oku ga yukay vyel vyoeker. I'd rather lose than cheat.
ji van...iz huj....no sooner...than	Ji van ha dezut yepa, iz huj ha hyaydeux ija. No sooner did the actor enter than the applause began.
huugla...van....so/such...that	Ha map sa huugla aza van ha fab pyoxwa. The wind was so strong that the tree was felled.
ven...ey (voy)....whether...or (not)	Ven et te is ey voy, at tadioye. Whether you know it or not, I am about to get married.

Adverbial Coordinating Conjunctions

Some grammars call these conjunctive adverbs:

Adverbial Coordinating Conjunctions
CONJUNCTION	EXAMPLE
jo hus / joy then, next, after that	Yat deuza, jo hus hyat daza. We sang, then everyone danced.
je hus / jey meanwhile	Je hus, at ujba hyas. Meanwhile, I finished everything.
av hus so, therefore	It vuda at, av hus at pia. He insulted me, so I left.
(gey) ov hus nevertheless, even so, despite that, yet, however	At yexa kyotepay, ov hus, at ujoka. I work diligently, yet I failed.
gel hus / gelay likewise, also, similarly	At daze. Gel hus, at deuze. You dance; likewise, I sing.
hyiyen / geyen in the same way, likewise	Yit xa fi; hyiyen, et xo gay fi. They did well; in the same way, you will too.
ogel hus / ogelay otherwise, else	Du hes, ogel hus, piu. Say something, otherwise, leave.
gay also	Et yeka; gay, et ujaka! You tried; also, you succeeded!
be nem (bi hus) instead (of that)	Hyot fida iyt; be nem bi hus, yit fuda iyt. Nobody praised her; instead, they badmouthed her.
huyen thus, in that way	Tixu jestay; huyen, et ujako. Study diligently; in that way, you'll succeed.
husav for that reason, so, therefore	At voy ifeyie has; husav, at pio. I'm not enjoying it, so I will leave.
vray as a matter of fact, actually, in fact	Vray, et se vyasa. In fact, you're right.
gel jos consequently, as a consequence	It baksa; gel jos, it toja. He got sick; as a consequence, he died.
gel xin as a result	At voy tixa; gel xin, at okuja. At didn't study; as a result, I failed.
ga vyel hus moreover, what's more	Mamila. Ga vyel hus, esa mamxeus. It rained. Moreover, there was thunder.
be hyua duni in other words	At voy da ha vyan; be hyua duni, at vyoda. It did not tell the truth; in other words, I lied.
jey meanwhile, in the meantime	Ha toboti xeya gla xeus; jey, at jesa tixer. The children were making a lot of noise; meanwhile, I continued to study.
ovay on the contrary	Ha tam voy se aga; ovay, has se gle oga. The house is not big; on the contrary, it's rather small.
bi hyua teasgun on the other hand	At voy deuze. Bi byua teagun, at eke duzar. I don't sing. On the other hand, I play a musical instrument.
gey bay hus still, even so	Voy esa duz, gey bay hus, ha xej sa ifxea. There was no music. Even so, the event was entertaining.
ujnay finally, in the end	Unjnay, hyoa fus xwa. In the end, nothing bad happened.

Subordinating Conjunctions

Subordinating Conjunctions introduce three types of dependent or subordinate clauses:

1. Adjectival subordinate clauses (also called relative clauses)

He is the guy that earned the most this year. The subordinate clause modifies a noun in the main clause. Adjectival clauses are introduced in Mirad by the relative complementizer ho. Relative clauses are discussed in the Relative Clauses section of the chapter on Verbs.

2. Nominal subordinate clauses (also called factive clauses)

I knew that she would come. The subordinate clause is the object or complement of a verb in the main clause. Nominal subordinate clauses are introduced by one of the factive complementizers van, ven, or von, depending on whether the subordinate clause is positive, conditional, or negative.

3. Adverbial subordinate clauses (also called circumstantial clauses).

Did you see where they went?. The subordinate clause is an adverbial clause modifying a verb in the main clause for time, place, manner, and other circumstances. Adverbial subordinate clauses are introduced by relative deictic adverbs like hom....where, hoj....when, and hosav....why.

Complementizers

The complementizers above are part of an overall scheme. In the chart below, the six complementizers act:

as a clause linker, where the complementizer introduces a clause that is a statement of FACT or CONDITION, or
as a sentence introducer, where the complementizer introduces a sentence that is a command/wish, a prohibition, or a yes-no question. Some of these complementizers can act in either or both roles. In actuality, all of the complementizers introduce or link a subordinate clause; it's just that in some cases, the main clause is left unexpressed.

Complementizers
TYPE	COMPLEMENTIZER	CLAUSE LINKER	SENTENCE INTRODUCER
Positive / Hortative	van	that, the fact that	May....(something happen), Let....(something happen)
Conditional	ven	if, whether	--
Negative / Prohibitive	von	lest, that...not	Don't
Anti-Conditional	oven	unless	--
Interrogative	Duven...?	--	Is it true that, say whether..., do(es)?
Relative	ho	that, which, who(m)	--

Examples of these conjunctions linking a main and subordinate clause:

At ta van et upo.....I knew that you would come. (FACTIVE)
At xa is av van et testu.....I did it so that you would understand.
At voy ta ven et upo.....I did not know whether you would come. (CONDITIONAL)
Ven et te ha dud, du has.....If you know the answer, say it. (CONDITIONAL)
At yufa von et upu.....I feared lest you might come. (PROHIBITIVE)
At voy upo oven et upo gay.....I will not come unless you come, too. (ANTI-CONDITIONAL)
At fe teater ha tob ho xa his.....I want to see the man who did this. (RELATIVE)
At fe teater hoa tob xa his.....I want to see which man did this.
Iyt akeye oyv van iyt bayse yofi.....She is winning despite the fact that she has disabilities.

Example of these conjunctions introducing different types of sentences:

Van yat fyadilu.....Let us pray. (Hortative, i.e., A WISH)
Van yit teliu avol!....Let them eat bread.
Van ha edweb yagteju.....May the king live long.
Duven et te ha dud?....Do you know the answer? (YES/NO QUESTION)
Duven et se tadxwa.....Are you are married. (SAY WHETHER...)
Von (et) yufu.....Don't (you) be afraid. (Prohibitive, i.e., AN INJUNCTION)
Von hus xwu.....Let that not happen. (NEGATIVE HORTATIVE)

The sentence-initial interrogative complementizer Duven (Is it true that?) is used to introduce a yes/no question. The word can be analyzed as a command meaning Say whether... where Say... is the main clause in the imperative mood.

Duven et se tadokyayt?....Are you a widow? (= Say whether you are...).

Av van + a predicate in the hypothetical mood expresses a "so that, in order that" clause, eg.:

At uzba ata teb av van at yafu teater hos xowe^*.....I turned my head so that I could see what was about to happen.

Using the negative complementizer, von, the above sentence could be rephrased as:

At uzba ata teb av von at teatu hos xowe.....I turned my head so that I wouldn't see what was about to happen.

Since the subject is the same in both clauses, the sentence could be expressed more easily with an infinitive:

At uzba ata teb av (~ ov) teater hos xowe.....I turned my head so as (not) to see what was about to happen.

* xowe means is about to happen/be done. Unlike English, there is no relative sequencing of tenses in conjoined clauses. "I knew she would come." is rendered in Mirad with direct sequences of tenses, i.e. as "I knew that she will come." Also, unlike English, the "that" conjunction cannot be left out: At ta van iyt upo.

Conjunctions with the subordinate conjunctions van/ven/von

Conjunctions introducing nominal subordinate clauses consist of a preposition followed by the positive complementizer van, the conditional complementizer ven, or the negative complementizer von. English can use a bare preposition as a conjunction, as in the sentence "He will grow up before you notice it." However, Mirad requires the complementizer, much as in French, where "avant" (before) must be accompanied by "que" when followed by a clause ("Il se grandira avant que tu ne le remarques.") Here is a chart showing the most important of these conjunctions:

Subordinating conjunctions with **van** and **ven**
CONJUNCTION	EXAMPLE
ja van before	Du hay ja van et pio. Say hi before you leave.
je van while, as long as	Je van at so him, at xo gle yex av et. While I'm here, I'll do some work for you.
jo van after	At buo et has jo van et nuso. I will give it to you after you pay.
ojo van by the time	Ojo et puo him, at piayo. By the time you get here, I will have departed.
ju van until	Yat voy ijo ju van et puo him. We won't start until you get here.
ji van since	At voy teataya huyenas ji van et sa hum. I had not seen such a thing since you were there.
gey ven even if	Gey ven et yontexe, at bolo et. Even if you disagree, I'll support you.
gel ven as if	Yat yeyfe axler gel ven yat teata hyos. We should act as if we saw nothing.
gey ov van even though, though	Gey ov van ha pansin sa gra yaga, at ifia has. Even though the movie was too long, I enjoyed it.
ov van (al)though, despite the fact that	At po ov van at voy fe. I'll go, although I don't want to.
av van so (that)	It utifbua av van hyuti teju. He sacrificed himself so that others might live.
av von lest, so that...not	It utifbua av von hyuti toju. He sacrificed himself so that others might not die (= lest others might die).
Buwa van in as much as, given that	Buwa van iyt se tadiwa, at voy byuxo iyt. Given that she's married, I won't touch her.
Hij van now that	Hij van et se him, biu hegla kafeyl. Now that you're here, have some coffee.
Vakuwa van provide that	Vakuwa van et se yukoma, at hoydo. Provided you're comfortable, I will say my goodbyes.
ven if	Ven yat fe iber ixuni, yat yefe yexer ga jestay. If we want to get results, we must work harder.
ven whether	Ven et ijbo ha yexes obyose et. Whether you finish the job is up to you.
Oven unless	Oven et do hyuyen, at dolo. Unless you say otherwise, I will be silent.

Conjunctions as Circumstantial Clause Headers

If the conjunction contains a deictic adverb like where, when, how, etc., then the relative form of the deictic adverb is used. The most common of these begin with ho- or hye- and behave as in English.

Subordinating Conjunctions
CONJUNCTION	CIRCUMSTANCE	EXAMPLES
hoj when	TIME	Hoj et pua, ha if ija. When you arrived, the fun began.
hyej whenever	TIME	Hyej et dale, at hihide. Whenever you talk, I laugh.
hom where	PLACE	At voy te hom it pa. I don't know where he went.
hyem wherevere	PLACE	Et yafe per hyem et fu. You can go wherever you'd like.
hyam everywhere	PLACE	Hyam at pe, et se hum. Everywhere I go, you're there.
hosav why	CAUSE	Duven et te hosav it xa his? Do you know why he did it?
hosav because	CAUSE	It xa has hosav it fa teatuer yat hes. He did it because he wanted to show us something.
hoyen how, as	MANNER	Xu hoyen et fu van hyuti axlu ub et. Do as you'd want others to act toward you.
hogla as	DEGREE	Yexu hogla ugay et efe. Work as slowly as you need to.
hyegla however much (that)	DEGREE	Dalu hyegla et efo. Talk however much you need to.
hoglas as much (as)	QUANTITY	At telio hoglas at fe. I will eat as much as I want.

Other conjunctions of circumstance are sometimes used. This is not a complete list.

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