Conjunction - Voegwoord

Introduction

Co-ordinating conjunction

Subordinating conjunction

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Introduction

Conjunctions link two clauses together. There are two types of conjunctions: co-ordinating and subordinating.

Co-ordinating conjunction - Nevenschikkend voegwoord

If a conjunction joins two main clauses, it is a co-ordinating conjunction. Or, to argue the other way, if you use a co-ordinating conjunction, the sentence structure in both clauses is the same. The most common co-ordinating conjunctions are:

dus so
en and
maar but
of or
want for

en
Karin werkt in een boekwinkel. Simone studeert medicijnen.
Karin werkt in een boekwinkel en Simone studeert medicijnen.
Karin works in a book shop and Simone studies medicine.

maar
Ik kom uit Colchester in Engeland. Ik studeer in Hull.
Ik kom uit Colchester in Engeland, maar ik studeer in Hull.
I am from Colchester in England but I study in Hull.

In these examples, the sentence structure in both main clauses is the same, which means that the finite verb is in second position and that the subject comes first.

Dus is an exception to this rule, as it is used both with and without inversion. In the sentence with inversion, it functions as an adverb.

Ik woon in Nederland, dus ik studeer Nederlands.
Ik woon in Nederland, dus studeer ik Nederlands.
I live in the Netherlands, so I study Dutch.

Note that in writing dus, maar and want tend to be preceded by a comma, but en and of do not.

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Subordinating conjunction - Onderschikkend voegwoord

A subordinating conjunction is used to introduce a subordinate clause.

It is very important that you are aware of subordinating conjunctions, because the sentence structure in a subordinate clause is different from that in a main clause. In a clause following a subordinating conjunction, the finite verb as well as all other verbs occur in the last or penultimate place. The most common subordinating conjunctions are:

als if/when
dat that
hoewel although
of whether
omdat because
nadat after
terwijl while
toen when (in the past)
wanneer when

toen:
Alan en zijn vrienden gingen naar Antwerpen. Ze hadden vakantie.
Alan en zijn vrienden gingen naar Antwerpen toen ze vakantie hadden.
Alan and his friends went to Antwerp when they had their holiday.

omdat
Karins moeder kan niet op Luuk passen. Ze gaat met haar vriendinnen naar de stad.
Karins moeder kan niet op Luuk passen omdat ze met haar vriendinnen naar de stad gaat.
Karin's mother cannot look after Luuk because she's going into town with her friends.

In these examples, the sentence structure in the main clauses differs from that in the subclause. In the subclauses (in both cases here the last clause) the finite verb is in the last position.

Note that when a sentence starts with a subclause, inversion will occur in the main clause.

Toen ze vakantie hadden, gingen Alan en zijn vrienden naar Antwerpen.
When they had a holiday, Alan and his friends went to Antwerp.

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Click here to read more about conjunctions in the Advanced Dutch Grammar.