Living Together in Community
Senior 4 · English (Languages)
Living Together in Community
Lesson 3 of 5
40 min
Let's begin
Community life is full of relationships: causes and results, conditions, contrasts, people who did things for one another. English shows those relationships with small words. Conjunctions show how ideas relate (because, although, unless); pronouns show who is who and who did what to whom (they, themselves, each other, whose). A text without them is a list; a text that uses them well is an argument. Read the model, then study each group of words in turn.
A community report written by Ganzaa; the village and people are imagined.
For three weeks the tap at our water point gave nothing but air, so families had to walk down to the stream, which is forty minutes away. Although everyone complained, nobody acted until Mrs Uwera, whose children carried the heaviest jerrycans, called a meeting. She did not blame the committee, nor did she ask the district for money. She asked a simple question: "What can we do ourselves?"
The answer was more than anyone expected. Mr Gatete, who had once worked for the water company, found the cracked pipe while the young people were clearing the path. The traders put money together so that new pipe could be bought, and the children carried stones for the base. The work was hard, yet it took only two Saturdays. Since the water came back, the neighbours have met every month to check the pipe themselves, and they have learned something about each other: a village that waits for help waits a long time.
Coordinating conjunctions join two parts of equal grammatical rank: two words, two phrases or two main clauses. There are seven; remember them as FANBOYS: for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so. Subordinating conjunctions begin a dependent clause and attach it to a main clause.
| Meaning | Conjunctions | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Addition, choice | and, or, nor (coordinating) | She did not blame the committee, nor did she ask for money. |
| Contrast | but, yet (coordinating); although, though, even though, whereas, while | Although everyone complained, nobody acted. |
| Cause | for (coordinating, formal); because, since, as | We walked to the stream because the tap was dry. |
| Result | so (coordinating); so … that | The tap gave only air, so families walked to the stream. |
| Purpose | so that, in order that | They pooled money so that new pipe could be bought. |
| Condition | if, unless, provided that, as long as | The pipe will last as long as we check it. |
| Time | when, while, before, after, until, since, as soon as, once | Nobody acted until Mrs Uwera called a meeting. |
Punctuation. Put a comma before a coordinating conjunction that joins two main clauses (The work was hard, yet it took two Saturdays.). Put a comma after a subordinate clause that comes first (Although everyone complained, nobody acted.), but usually none when it comes second (Nobody acted although everyone complained.).
Worked example 1: three ways to join the same ideas
Ideas: Mutesi had quarrelled with Gatete. She accepted the calf.
Never combine the two: Although she had quarrelled with him, but she accepted the calf. One contrast word per contrast.
| Subject | Object | Possessive determiner | Possessive pronoun | Reflexive / emphatic |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| I | me | my | mine | myself |
| you | you | your | yours | yourself / yourselves |
| he / she / it | him / her / it | his / her / its | his / hers / (its) | himself / herself / itself |
| we | us | our | ours | ourselves |
| they | them | their | theirs | themselves |
| Relative word | Refers to | Example |
|---|---|---|
| who | people (subject of the clause) | Mr Gatete, who had worked for the water company, found the crack. |
| whom | people (object; formal) | The chairwoman, whom everyone trusted, kept a key. |
| whose | possession, for people and things | Mrs Uwera, whose children carried the jerrycans, called a meeting. |
| which | things and animals | the stream, which is forty minutes away |
| that | people or things, in defining clauses only | a village that waits for help |
| where, when | places, times | the hill where we live; the day when the water came back |
Defining or non-defining? A defining clause tells you which one; it has no commas: The member who stopped coming has repaid. A non-defining clause adds extra information about someone already identified; it has commas and never uses that: Mrs Nyiraneza, who chairs the group, holds a key. In a defining clause you may leave out the relative pronoun when it is the object: the calf (that) Keza loved.
Worked example 2: one comma, two meanings
(a) The families who had cows gave milk to the school. (b) The families, who had cows, gave milk to the school.
Warning
Pronoun errors to avoid
Tip
The "drop it" test for me or I. Remove the other person and read the sentence: The chairwoman thanked Gatete and (I / me). → The chairwoman thanked me, so: thanked Gatete and me. The same test fixes who/whom: if the answer would be him, use whom; if he, use who.
Using defining and non-defining relative clauses, from the 6 Minute Grammar series by BBC Learning English (about 6 minutes, 2015). Watch for how the presenters decide whether a clause needs commas, and compare it with Worked example 2.
Practice
Key points
Sources and credits
Quick check
Choose the correct sentence.
