Definition of the word subordinating conjunction

The term "subordinating conjunction" describes a grammatical element that joins clauses in a sentence to express a relationship between them. The term "subordinating" refers to the fact that one of these clauses, the dependent clause, is subordinate, or secondary, to the other, the independent clause. These words, therefore, help to create complex sentences where two or more clauses are connected in a meaningful way. The term "conjunction" itself comes from the Latin word "coniunctio", meaning "joining together". This reflects the fact that the subordinating conjunctions serve to join syntactically distinct clauses into a single grammatical structure, thereby creating greater complexity and nuance in meaning. In contrast, coordinating conjunctions like "and", "but", and "or", join words or phrases with equal grammatical status, forming simple and compound sentences.