Skip to main content
COVID-19 information and screening Learn how we’re keeping our campus community safe, healthy and engaged during our gradual return to campus.
Note: The university’s mandatory vaccine directive is now in effect. Learn more about vaccine requirements.
Ontario Tech acknowledges the lands and people of the Mississaugas of Scugog Island First Nation.

We are thankful to be welcome on these lands in friendship. The lands we are situated on are covered by the Williams Treaties and are the traditional territory of the Mississaugas, a branch of the greater Anishinaabeg Nation, including Algonquin, Ojibway, Odawa and Pottawatomi. These lands remain home to many Indigenous nations and peoples.

We acknowledge this land out of respect for the Indigenous nations who have cared for Turtle Island, also called North America, from before the arrival of settler peoples until this day. Most importantly, we acknowledge that the history of these lands has been tainted by poor treatment and a lack of friendship with the First Nations who call them home.

This history is something we are all affected by because we are all treaty people in Canada. We all have a shared history to reflect on, and each of us is affected by this history in different ways. Our past defines our present, but if we move forward as friends and allies, then it does not have to define our future.

Learn more about Indigenous Education and Cultural Services

The Important Joining Words

In English, the most commonly used conjunctions (or joining words) are:

and           although           as           because           but           if           or

There are a number of other important conjunctions that you can use. These can be put into categories of time, place, or agreement:

TIME before    after    until    since      when      whenever      while

For example:

  • We all went home before a fight broke out.
  • She went to bed after she put the cat out.
  • There will be no peace until somebody says that they are sorry.
  • It has not been the same around here since our friends moved away.
  • They put the television off when the program had finished.
  • He washes his new car whenever it gets dirty.
  • The children go to the crèche while Mum goes to work.
PLACE where

For example: 

Remember that restaurant where you ate a huge steak.

AGREEMENT though            although                 whether

For example:

  • He could play the violin though he was only five years old.
  • I would invite you to come in although the place is a mess.
  • It was a great show whether you wanted to join in or just watch.

Tips:

  • Try to avoid using the same conjunction over and over again. It is much better to 'mix and match'.
  • The conjunction you use can change the meaning of the sentence. You cannot use every conjunction everywhere - so choose wisely!

For more on joining words, see the Tip Sheets on Connecting Words and Transitions Signals, The Important Joining Words, and Five Useful Ways to Join Words.

For more information on the importance of joining words and how to use them, watch this video from York University.