Definition of subordinating conjunction in US English:
subordinating conjunction
nounsəˌbôrdnˌādiNG kənˈjəNGkSH(ə)nsəˌbɔrdnˌeɪdɪŋ kənˈdʒəŋkʃ(ə)n
A conjunction that introduces a subordinate clause, e.g., although, because.
Contrasted with coordinating conjunction
Example sentencesExamples
- Questions beginning with a subordinating conjunction or a relative pronoun are complete sentences.
- Notice that the comma comes at the end of the clause, not after the subordinating conjunction.
- The independent clause must be connected to the dependent clause in a subordinating conjunction.
- You could also think of the subordinating conjunction as a prepositional phrase, and you always need a comma after a prepositional phrase that starts a sentence.
- There are a great many subordinating conjunctions in the English language.