Lesson #6 - THE SIX BASIC LOGICAL RELATIONSHIPS IN LANGUAGE
PONDER THIS ABOUT LANGUAGE:
Language is essentially the interplay of its content words and the ideas that reside in them, and in English, the primary operators for connecting ideas and establishing their various relationships in a sentence are the following:
1. The prepositions
2. The conjunctions
3. The conjunctive adverbs
A. THE SIX BASIC LOGICAL RELATIONSHIPS IN LANGUAGE
1. The additive relationship – to add information similar to what has already been given in a statement.
2. The comparative relationship – to present an idea dissimilar to the one preceding it, or to highlight the difference rather than the similarity between two things or ideas.
3. The temporal or time relationship – to establish the sequence, duration, or perceived immediacy of two or more events as they happen in time.
4. The causal or reason-result relationship – to establish a certain fact, event, or development as the cause or effect of a particular outcome or situation.
5. The conditional relationship – to establish that the truth or correctness of an idea is dependent on a certain condition or set of conditions, or that a certain outcome can be expected as a result of another condition or event.
6. The example relationship – to give concrete examples of what is being talked about.
So how do we establish these logical relationships in language? In English, in particular, what do we use as tools for combining ideas within sentences, between sentences, and across paragraphs?
B. TOOLS FOR COMBINING IDEAS WITHIN A SENTENCE
1. Prepositions – function words that typically combine with a noun phrase to form a phrase that usually expresses a modification or predication of an idea. Examples are the prepositions “in,” “at,” “on,” “to,” “since,” “after.”
As connectives, prepositions have to be tacked on to a noun phrase so we can properly modify it or elaborate on it when forming a sentence.
We will take up the prepositions in much greater detail in next week's lesson.
2. Conjunctions – function words that connect sentences, clauses, phrases, or words and establish a logical relationship between them. They are of two kinds:
(a) Coordinating conjunction – a function word that connects two or more word groups of equal grammatical rank. Typically, it links independent clauses to form compound sentences, or links parallel sentence elements.
The coordinating conjunctions are: “for,” “and,” “nor,” “but,” “or,” “yet,” and “so.” They are the basic connectives for linking independent clauses and establishing a desired logical relationship between them. When two independent clauses are linked by a coordinating conjunction, a compound sentence is formed.
Usage: “They decided to part ways, for their chemistry was simply incompatible.”
Usage: “The committee cleared him of the insubordination charge, and it deemed him not responsible for the missing store inventory.”
Usage: “He didn’t take the final exams nor submit his term paper.”
Usage: “The boxer was ahead in points in all the rounds, but he got knocked down on the 12th.”
Usage: “You can leave now to catch your evening flight, or you can sleep over to take the first morning flight tomorrow.”
Usage: “She was all excited to take her long vacation, yet opted at the last minute to stay at home the whole summer long.”
Usage: “They bungled the mixing of the last production batch, so they had to do it all over again.”
FOOD FOR THOUGHT ABOUT THE COORDINATING CONJUNCTIONS:
Together with the prepositions, the coordinating conjunctions are the most basic function words in the English language. Many people who know and use only the prepositions and coordinating conjunctions can get by in life with only the most rudimentary English. They can form only the most basic ideas, very much like a very young nonnative English speaker.
For true mastery of the English language, we need to be competent in using all of the function words—not only the prepositions and coordinating conjunctions but also the subordinating conjunctions and conjunctive adverbs.
(b) Subordinating conjunction – a function word that introduces and links a subordinate clause to a main clause, creating a complex sentence.
There are four groups of subordinators than can link subordinate clauses to independent clauses:
(1) Subordinating conjunctions for time
Examples: “before,” “after,” “during”
Usage: “You need to digest your dinner before you go to sleep.”
Usage: “After all his efforts to deliver the pizza, the customer rejected it for being an hour late.”
Usage: “She just sat there during all that time that we were so busy attending to the customers.”
(2) Subordinating conjunctions for cause and effect
Examples: “until,” “if,” “because”
Usage: “The strangers continued pushing the woman’s car until its engine finally started.”
Usage: “I don’t think you’d pass the entrance exam if you don’t do a general review at all.”
Usage: “We won’t be able to go to the movies tonight because this horrendous rain just won’t stop.”
(3) Subordinating conjunctions for opposition and contrast
Examples: “though,” “as though,” “although”
Usage: “The singer lost the contest though she was the crowd favorite.”
Usage: “I want you to act as though nothing happened between us tonight.”
Usage: “Although she complies with all the traffic rules, she often gets flagged down by police for this and that violation.”
(4) Conditional subordinating conjunctions
Examples: “if,” “if only,” “as long as”
Usage: “You can still catch the train if you run along now.”
Usage: “She could have finished college if only she had persevered enough.”
Usage: “As long as she’s the general manager, I don’t think you have a chance of getting promoted.”
3. Conjunctive adverb – it performs essentially the same function as the coordinating conjunctions, which is to logically connect two independent, grammatically co-equal clauses. However, a conjunctive adverb provides a more explicit and forceful transition than its equivalent coordinating conjunction.
Examples: “moreover,” “therefore,” “however”
Usage: “Their monthly sales is poor; morever, their collection efficiency is way below par.”
Usage: “They always clash regarding policy; therefore, it is best to assign them to different departments.”
Usage: “Her grasp of English is superb; however, her math leaves a lot to be desired.”
Conjunctive adverbs can give punch to our sentences when used judiciously; otherwise, they can make us sound pedantic, pompous, and overbearing. Indeed, the blatant overuse of conjunctive adverbs often leads to legalese or bureaucratese, a language register that makes business writing sound like it was written by a petty potentate or a two-bit lawyer.
Take a look:
“Whereas, during the first quarter of 2007, the company ran a very thorough and exhaustive survey of customer preferences. However, in view of the fact that it was a very costly one, many managers consequently opposed it and considered it unnecessary. Notwithstanding their objections, however, we conducted the survey and found out that many of our assumptions about our customers were wrong. Accordingly, therefore, we subsequently made rigorous changes in our marketing plans.”
The excessive emphasis that conjunctive adverbs give to practically just anything—no matter how trivial or petty—makes us sound like two-bit lawyers.
Now see and feel how much more easy, pleasant, and reader-friendly that same passage becomes when the conjunctive adverbs are replaced with plain coordinating conjunctions:
“The company ran a very thorough and exhaustive but very costly survey of customer preferences. Many managers opposed it and thought that it was an unnecessary exercise, but we conducted it anyway. As it turned out, the survey showed that many of our assumptions about our customers were wrong, so we had to rigorously change our marketing plans.”
Next: The Prepositions Revisited
