+379.+ Let us not be confused in this matter of connectives. There are
just four classes of connective words:
1. +Copulative verbs.+
2. +Relative pronouns.+
3. +Prepositions.+
4. +Conjunctions.+
+380.+ The copulative verb is not a pure connective, for it serves
another purpose in the sentence. For example, in the sentence, _The book
is interesting_, the copulative verb _is_ connects the adjective
_interesting_ with the noun _book_, which it modifies; but it also is
the asserting word in the sentence. So it fulfils a double function. It
is an asserting word and also a connective word.
+381.+ The relative pronoun also is not a pure connective, for it serves
two purposes in the sentence. It not only connects the clause which it
introduces, with the word which it modifies, but it also serves as
either the subject or object in the clause. For example: _The man who
was here has gone_. The clause, _who was here_, is introduced by the
relative pronoun _who_, which connects that clause with the noun _man_,
which the clause modifies. _Who_ also serves as the subject of the verb
_was_.
In the sentence, _The men whom we seek have gone_, the clause, _whom we
seek_, is introduced by the relative pronoun _whom_, which connects the
clause with the word _men_, which it modifies. _Whom_ also serves as the
object of the verb in the clause, the verb _seek_.
+382.+ A preposition is not a pure connective, since it serves a double
function. It shows the relation of its object to the rest of the
sentence and also governs the form of its object. As, for example, in
the sentence: _The man before me is not the culprit_, the preposition
_before_ connects its object _me_ with the noun _man_, which the
prepositional phrase modifies, showing the relation between them; and it
governs the form of its object, for the pronoun following a preposition
must be used in the _object_ form.
+383.+ Even co-ordinate conjunctions can scarcely be considered pure
connectives unless it be the co-ordinate conjunction _and_. Co-ordinate
conjunctions such as _but_, _yet_, _still_, _however_, etc., not only
connect words, phrases and clauses of equal rank, but in addition to
connecting the words and expressions they also indicate that they are
opposite in thought.
+384.+ Co-ordinate conjunctions like _therefore_, _hence_, _then_, etc.,
connect words, phrases and clauses of equal rank, and also introduce a
_reason_ or _cause_. Co-ordinate conjunctions like _or_, _either_,
_nor_, _neither_, _whether_, etc., connect words, phrases and clauses of
equal rank, and also express the choice of an alternative. Thus these
co-ordinate conjunctions can scarcely be considered as pure connectives.
+385.+ Subordinate conjunctions are most frequently used to introduce
adverb clauses and have an adverbial meaning. They express, as do
adverbs, _place_, _time_, _manner_, _cause_, _reason_, _purpose_,
_condition_ or _result_. Some authorities indicate this double function
by calling such words as these conjunctive adverbs, because, even when
they are used as conjunctions, they retain some of their adverbial
force.
But according to our rule that every word in the sentence is classified
according to the function which it performs in that sentence, all words
that perform the function of a conjunction are called conjunctions,
although we understand that these conjunctions which introduce dependent
clauses do still retain some of their adverbial meaning.