# What's the difference between a conjunction and a preposition? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 30, 2001, 8:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-difference-between-a-conjunction-and-a-preposition/63822 "2001-04-30T08:58:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Primaflora](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/898d66/32.png) [@Primaflora](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Primaflora)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2001, 8:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-difference-between-a-conjunction-and-a-preposition/63822/1 "2001-04-30T08:58:34Z")
Can anyone explain to me precisely what the technical difference is? ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2001, 9:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-difference-between-a-conjunction-and-a-preposition/63822/2 "2001-04-30T09:52:06Z")
Well, a conjunction, as the name implies, is used to join two parts of a sentence. They are words like but, and, or, that, etc. e.g. He said **that** he likes Jill. e.g. He likes Jill **because** she’s sweet. A preposition is word placed before a noun or noun phrase and somehow indicates the noun or noun phrase’s relationship to another verb, adjective or noun (phrase.) These are words like over, by, in, to, with, etc. e.g. Jill climbed **over** the wall. e.g. Jill stood **near** the bus stop. As you can see, prepositions establish a relationship between two parts of a sentence in a way that conjunctions don’t. Conjunctions act more like glue, if you will, and don’t add a lot of meaning. Prepositions usually establish some sort of _positional_ relationship between elements in a sentence. ---
**Author:** ![gadgetgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c5a1d2/32.png) [@gadgetgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gadgetgirl)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2001, 10:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-difference-between-a-conjunction-and-a-preposition/63822/3 "2001-04-30T10:38:49Z")
I seem to remember when I was a kid learing about such things and the teacher presented each of us with drawing of a person standing next to a tree. She told us to think about how the person could get to the other side of the tree or how the person relates to the tree. (The person could go over, under, through, near, by, on, etc) That’s how I identify a preposition. And as for a conjunction, sadly I remember the “Conjunction Junction, what’s your function? Hookin’ up words and phrases and clauses.” from Schoolhouse Rock. ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2001, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-difference-between-a-conjunction-and-a-preposition/63822/4 "2001-04-30T14:30:34Z")
As has been noted, conjunctions join things. These could be sentences (called _clauses_ when they are combined into a bigger sentence), or just items. The _coordinate conjunctions_ join things, but show little or no relationship between clauses: The boy kicked the ball. He scored a goal. becomes The boy kicked the ball **and** he scored a goal. There are six coordinate conjunctions (for, and, nor, but, or, yet), though some add _so_, for a total of seven. _Subordinate conjunctions_ join clauses, and show a relationship between them: I was waiting for the bus. I saw Bob. can become **While** I was waiting for the bus, I saw Bob. or I saw Bob **while** I was waiting for the bus. Another example: The bus was late. I was late for school. can become **Since** the bus was late, I was late for school. or I was late for school **because** the bus was late. _Prepositions_ give direction to actions. They are not adverbs, though they do add information to what is happening in the sentence: I sat **on** the chair. Bob saw me **at** school. The car is driving **over** the bridge. Susan goes to work **in** the city. John rode **on** the train **to** Chicago **in** December. The difference between conjunctions and prepositions is just that conjunctions join things, while (hey! I used a subordinate conjunction there) prepositions give direction to actions. Here’s an overly simple test, but (coordinate conjunction) it works in (preposition) most instances: If you take the word you are wondering about out and end up with two sentences, you have a conjunction. If you take that word out and end up with an incomplete sentence somewhere, you have a preposition: Remember: The boy kicked the ball and he scored a goal. The boy kicked the ball. He scored a goal. Take away **and** , and we have two sentences. **And** must be a conjunction. But: Bob saw me at school. Bob saw me. School. Take away **at** , and we have one sentence and only part of another. **At** must be a preposition. The test won’t work in all instances. But it works in many, and demonstrates the difference between the two parts of speech. ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2001, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-difference-between-a-conjunction-and-a-preposition/63822/5 "2001-04-30T14:40:44Z")
Whoops, forgot something. Conjunctions can join things to make plurals, and prepositions can still be used. The test won’t work so clearly at those times: I saw Steve **and** Mary **at** the movies. becomes I saw Steve. Mary at the movies. (Removing the conjunction doesn’t leave us with two sentences, so you might mistake it for a preposition.) I saw Steve and Mary. The movies. (It works here, so the removed word must be a preposition.) Like I said above, the test won’t always work. Be aware of situations like the example in this post however, and you should be okay. ---
**Author:** ![barbitu8](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/839c29/32.png) [@barbitu8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/barbitu8)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2001, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-difference-between-a-conjunction-and-a-preposition/63822/6 "2001-04-30T15:05:53Z")
Some people get confused between a preposition and an adverb when the same word can be used for both. “The game is over.” That sentence does not end with a preposition (although that is allowed), but by an adverb. “Drink up,” is similar, describing how you should drink. There are countless others: “Please have John fill in,” etc. ---
**Author:** ![matt\_mcl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@matt\_mcl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/matt_mcl)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2001, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-difference-between-a-conjunction-and-a-preposition/63822/7 "2001-05-01T03:25:20Z")
Actually, the rule that one does not end a sentence with a preposition is not, linguistically speaking, a rule of English at all. It is a descriptive (as opposed to a prescriptive, or “formal”) rule of Latin, which was imposed as a prescriptive rule in English, much like the rule about split infinitives. It does not work in English because of our plethora of verb phrases composed of a verb + a preposition. ---
**Author:** ![Primaflora](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/898d66/32.png) [@Primaflora](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Primaflora)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2001, 9:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-difference-between-a-conjunction-and-a-preposition/63822/8 "2001-05-01T09:32:39Z")
thanks! I finally get it. Now if I can just get to grips with the difference between adverbial phrases and adjectival phrases… ---
**Author:** ![Tansu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/67e7ee/32.png) [@Tansu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tansu)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2001, 11:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-difference-between-a-conjunction-and-a-preposition/63822/9 "2001-05-01T11:11:33Z")
An adverbial phrase does the job of an adverb. It’s a group of words that describe a verb. Johan knitted **as if his life depended on it** Johan knitted **quickly** An adjectival phrase does the job of an adjective. It’s a group of words that describe a noun. Christine likes programmes **about ancient history** Christine likes **educational** programmes ---
**Author:** ![barbitu8](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/839c29/32.png) [@barbitu8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/barbitu8)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2001, 12:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-difference-between-a-conjunction-and-a-preposition/63822/10 "2001-05-01T12:15:34Z")
Now that we’re doing your English homework for you, please post your grade so we’ll know what we got. ---
**Author:** ![Primaflora](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/898d66/32.png) [@Primaflora](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Primaflora)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2001, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-difference-between-a-conjunction-and-a-preposition/63822/11 "2001-05-01T20:51:51Z")
Hey Barbitu8 we done real good! 🙂 It’s not my English homework by the way. I asked the teeming millions because I was genuinely confused and every time I looked at my text books, it was too complicated. I’m doing this at a tertiary level and I am the result of an education system which gave up on teaching grammar at all. It’s not a pretty sight. Sitting in a class with a student who swears black and blue that ‘apple’ is a verb is a bit of a worry. ---
**Author:** ![vivalostwages](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/d07c76/32.png) [@vivalostwages](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vivalostwages)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2001, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-difference-between-a-conjunction-and-a-preposition/63822/12 "2001-05-02T00:35:21Z")
Here is a mnemonic for remembering the conjunctions **for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so** : Taking the first letter of each word: FANBOYS.