What are Conjunctive Adverbs?
Conjunctive adverbs are adverbs that combine sentences, clauses, words, and phrases with each other.
The difference between conjunctions and conjunctive adverbs: conjunctive adverbs are a part of the sentence while conjunctions are not. That means conjunctive adverbs count as taking up a position while conjunctions do not.
They normally go in position 1. When they are somewhere else in the sentence, they are usually being used as a modal, causal, temporal, or locative adverb. In this case, the combining nature of them is not so important.
Difference: Conjunctions & Conjunctive Adverbs
The difference between conjunctive adverbs and conjunctions: conjunctions go in position 0, conjunctive adverbs in position 1
- „Anna kommt später und Jan kommt auch später.“
⇒ Conjunction – Subject – Verb
The conjunction is in position 0. The verb stays in the second position. That means we need something between the verb and the conjunction. ⇒ Normally the subject. Conjunctions do not belong to any of the clauses. Their only function is to combine the clauses. That´s why they are in position 0.
- „Anna kommt später, außerdem kommt Jan auch später.“
⇒ Conjunctive Adverb – Verb – Subject
The conjunctive adverb belongs to the second clause. It is used in a combining sense only. That´s why it is in position 1. Adverbs always start a main clause. ⇒ The verb stays the second position and comes straight after the adverb.
The Conjunctive Adverbs
| Meaning | Conjunctive Adverb |
|---|---|
| Copulative (adding) | außerdem, zudem, dazu, daneben, darüber hinaus, desgleichen, ebenso, ferner, weiter, zusätzlich |
| Place (local) | daneben, darüber, darunter, dazwischen |
| Time (temporal) | davor, währenddessen, indessen, danach, anschließend |
| Reason (causal) | folglich, demzufolge, demnach, damit, somit, mithin, also, deswegen, deshalb, daher |
| Consequence (consecutive) | also, demzufolge, folglich, infolgedessen, mithin, so, somit, deswegen, deshalb |
| Opposed (adversative) | jedoch, doch, dagegen, stattdessen, hingegen, allerdings, dennoch, indes, indessen, vielmehr, demgegenüber, stattdessen |
| Limiting (restrictive) | insofern, nur, freilich, allerdings, indessen |
| conceding (concessive) | trotzdem, dennoch, dessen ungeachtet, gleichwohl, immerhin, allerdings, sowieso, demzufolge |
Summary
- Conjunctive adverbs are sentence elements.
- They count as taking up a position and do not send the verb to the end.
- They don‘t necessarily have to be in position 1. When they aren‘t there, they are often being used as modal, causal, temporal, or locative adverbs.
- The combining character is not the focus if they are placed somewhere other than position 1.
Further Information
- If you are not sure about the differences between main clauses and subordinate clauses, you should go through the lectures Main Clause and Subordinate Clause
- There are also separate lectures about Temporal Adverbs and Locative Adverbs
- The following are subordinating conjunctions: „dass“, „weil/da“, „obwohl“, „damit“, „wenn/falls“, „so dass“, „indem“ and „als/wenn“
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