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Activities “Coordinating conjunctions: What are they and how to use them in English?”

By: Lauren Gurteen

Associated Articles

These activities are part of our English Grammar series. The skills we are practicing here are covered in our article:

Activity 1: Which conjunction?

Complete the sentences using the options below.

for

and

nor

but

yet

Do you prefer chocolate strawberry ice cream?
I like cats dogs.
It is raining, I’ll take my umbrella with me.
Our family hasn’t been to Edinburgh, have we been to Glasgow.

I like strawberries and blueberries, not bananas.

My husband brought me flowers, it is Valentine’s Day.
She was smiling, something about her eyes suggested that she was very sad.

Activity 2: Jill and Becky visit Edinburgh

Can you spot the coordinating conjunctions in the text below that have been misused? When you find one that is wrong, replace it with another one that works better.

(Hint: There are 11 errors total!)

Jilly and Becky are visiting Edinburgh. It’s raining, so they are carrying umbrellas.

“I hate the rain!” says Jilly. “Scotland is cold but wet.”

“Yes, nor it is beautiful,” replies Becky. “I don’t mind the cold that much.”

“Do you want to visit the Old Town or the New Town first?” asks Jilly.

“Let’s visit the Old Town first, so it is closer,” suggests Becky.

The Old Town is beautiful or interesting. Jilly and Becky enjoy sightseeing but taking photos.

The Old Town is on a hill, so they need to walk uphill a lot. In the rain this is not very easy. Nevertheless, they have a great time, so it is getting late. Jilly looks at her watch.

“Oh dear! I would like to go to Edinburgh castle, yet we still need to see the New Town. It is 4 p.m. and we do not have enough time. Which one would you prefer to do today Becky: the castle and the new town?”

“To be honest,” replies Becky, “I want to visit neither the castle nor the New Town. I was wrong. I do hate the cold. It is cold and wet but I think I’m getting a cold! We have another day tomorrow, so right now I would like to sit in a warm cafe with a hot drink.”

Jilly and Becky decide this is the best idea. They have hot drinks for some delicious cake.

They sit by the window, or they watch the world go by.

“Do you like Edinburgh and would you prefer to be someplace else?” asks Becky to Jilly.

“Today has been cold and wet, but it has been interesting,” replies Jilly. “I don’t want to be anywhere else. It is lovely just being here with you.”

Jilly yet Becky are happy they came to visit Edinburgh.

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