Why do I need this? Subordinators – or Subordinating Conjunctions – are the linkers that come at the front of Adverbial Clauses; they are needed to join the embedded clause with the main clause. Each subordinator has its own meaning and is associated with a certain category of Adverbial Clauses.
This table shows the different Subordinators and how they can be categorized by meaning. Try typing a category (‘time’, ‘result’, ‘manner’, etc.) into the search bar to filter the table and view only the conjunctions that fit that category.
| Conjunction | Cause & Effect | Circumstance | Setting | Means |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| after | Time | |||
| although | Concession | |||
| any time (that) | Time | |||
| anywhere | Place | |||
| as | Reason | Time | ||
| as [modifier] as | Comparison | |||
| as far as | Place | Extent | ||
| as if | Manner | |||
| as long as | Condition | Duration | ||
| as much as | Concession | Manner | ||
| as soon as | Time | |||
| as though | Manner | |||
| because | Reason | |||
| before | Time | |||
| by the time (that) | Time | |||
| despite the fact that | Concession | |||
| even if | Concession | |||
| even though | Concession | |||
| every time | Time | |||
| everywhere | Place | |||
| for | Reason | |||
| given that | Reason | Condition | ||
| how | Manner | |||
| however | Concession | Manner | ||
| if | Condition | |||
| in case | Purpose | |||
| in order that | Purpose | |||
| in spite of the fact that | Concession | |||
| in the event that | Condition | |||
| inasmuch as | Extent | |||
| just as | Comparison | |||
| lest | Purpose | |||
| like | Comparison | |||
| much as | Concession | |||
| now that | Reason | |||
| once | Time | |||
| provided (that) | Condition | |||
| rather than | ||||
| since | Reason | Duration | ||
| so | Purpose | |||
| so that | Purpose | |||
| so long as | Condition | |||
| so [modifier] that | Result | |||
| such [noun] that | Result | |||
| supposing (that) | Condition | |||
| than | Comparison | |||
| the way | Manner | |||
| though | Concession | |||
| till | Duration | |||
| unless | Condition | |||
| until | Duration | |||
| whatever | Concession | Manner | ||
| when | Time | |||
| whenever | Time | |||
| where | Place | |||
| whereas | Concession | |||
| wherever | Place | |||
| whether | Condition | |||
| whether or not | Condition | |||
| whichever | Manner | |||
| while | Concession | Duration |
Distinctions in the Cause & Effect category:
Reason is past-facing while Purpose is future-facing. In some cases, you can swap the embedded clause and the main clause of a cause-and-effect situation, and the only other adjustment you’d need is to change a Reason conjunction into a Purpose one, or vice versa.
For instance, “It’s raining, so we’ll stay inside,” and “We’ll stay inside because it’s raining,” mean the same thing, but the first uses a Purpose conjunction and the second uses a Reason conjunction.
Purpose and Result are both future-facing, but Purpose is for intended outcomes, whether or not they come to pass, while Result is for the outcomes that come to pass, whether or not they were intended. Of course, there is some overlap. In some situations, both Purpose and Result may be appropriate; it just depends on whether you want to focus on intentions or reality.
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