Messages and Letters
Primary 5 · English
Messages and Letters
Lesson 2 of 3
12 min
Let's begin
Mugisha handed in this paragraph: “I woke up. I was late. I ran to school. I was tired. The gate was closed.”
Read it out loud. Every sentence stops dead, then starts again. It is a road full of potholes, and your reader feels every bump.
Today you learn the small words that smooth the road out.
Take two of Mugisha’s sentences:
I ran to school. I was late.
Now slide the word because between them:
I ran to school because I was late.
One sentence instead of two. It reads more smoothly — but look closer, because something bigger happened. The new sentence tells you something the two short ones never did: it tells you why he ran. The joining word did that work.
Words that join ideas like this are called conjunctions. Here are the five you need most.
We bought beans. We bought rice. → We bought beans and rice.
Use and when the second idea simply adds to the first. Notice you did not have to repeat “we bought”. When both halves are about the same person doing two things, you can drop the repeat: Uwase picked up her books and ran.
The bus was full. The driver stopped for us. → The bus was full, but the driver stopped for us.
Use but when the second idea is a surprise after the first. You expected a full bus to drive straight past — and it did not. That little jolt is exactly what but is for.
We missed the first lesson. The bus was late. → We missed the first lesson because the bus was late.
Whatever comes after because is the reason. It answers the question Why?
The bus was late. We missed the first lesson. → The bus was late, so we missed the first lesson.
Whatever comes after so is the result. It answers the question What happened then?
The bell rang. We ran outside. → We ran outside when the bell rang.
You can also swing the when part round to the front: When the bell rang, we ran outside. Both are correct. When tells your reader the time something happened.
Read these two sentences carefully. They carry exactly the same news:
Same two facts, swapped round. After because comes the cause (the late bus). After so comes the effect (the missed lesson).
Get them the wrong way round and you say something silly: The bus was late because we missed the first lesson. That would mean the poor bus is late because of you!
Tip
Ask the question, then pick the word. because answers why? — so answers what happened then?
“We stayed inside ___ it was raining.” Is the second half a reason or a result? Rain is why you stayed in — so the word is because.
Warning
“Because it was raining.” on its own is not a sentence. It leaves your reader hanging, waiting for the rest. A because part must always hold on to a main idea: We stayed inside because it was raining. Read it aloud — if it sounds unfinished, it is unfinished.
Write each one out before you look at the answer.
Join with but: Keza studied hard. She did not pass the test.
Answer: Keza studied hard, but she did not pass the test. A comma before but, because it is joining two full sentences. (Failing after studying hard is a surprise — that is why but is the right word here, not and.)
because or so? The market was closed, ___ we walked home with empty baskets.
Answer: so. The empty baskets are the result of the closed market.
because or so? Habimana was smiling all morning ___ his goat had given birth to twins.
Answer: because. The twins are the reason for the smile.
Join with when, starting the sentence with the when part: We were eating supper. The lights went out.
Answer: When we were eating supper, the lights went out. Because the when part comes first, it needs a comma after it.
Now smooth out Mugisha’s bumpy paragraph from the beginning of this lesson: I woke up. I was late. I ran to school. I was tired. The gate was closed.
One good answer: I woke up late, so I ran to school. I was tired when I arrived, and the gate was already closed.
Five bumpy sentences became two smooth ones, using so, when and and. Your version may join them differently — that is fine, as long as each joining word does the right job.
What you learned today
Quick check
Choose the joining word: It was very hot, ___ we sat under the tree.
