Do you know what a subordinate conjunction is?
No? Well, Pepito suggests that you review the following examples to
figure out the answer.
After dreaming about Elena, Pepito woke up with a smile. Before kissing Martin, Camila thought he was a frog. While dancing with Felipe, Aki laughed continuously.
Were you able to figure it out? Well, let's take a look at the following exercise. It should help you.
What is the purpose of the words After, Before, and While in the sentences above?
What do we call the –ing words, dreaming, kissing and dancing?
What do we call all the words that appear before the comma in each sentence above?
The answers are:
1. These conjunctions indicate a certain time.
2. They are called gerunds.
3. All the words before the comma comprise a subordinate clause.
How did you do? If you did not answer all three questions correctly,
press the button to hide the answers and try again.
Exercise 2, Expanding Your Knowledge of Subordinate Conjunctions
There are other ways to use subordinate conjunctions.
Review the following examples.
After Pepito woke up, he wished he could dream about Elena every day.
Before Camila kissed Martin, she was very nervous.
While she was dancing with Felipe, Aki laughed at the couple next to them.
In Exercise 1, gerunds followed the conjunctions. Example: After eating the
sushi that Hiroshi made for her, Amandine decided to travel to Japan with him.
In Exercise 2, something different is happening. What is that?
Clearly, in addition to gerunds, the simple past tense and the past continuous tense can be used
after the subordinate conjunctions, after, before and while.
Now, let's practice using subordinate conjunctions.
Indicate if the sentences below are correct or wrong.
1. After Florian marrying Fabio's sister, he started
studying Portuguese.
2. Before sleeping on the sofa, Florian was kicked out
of the bedroom by his wife.
3. Before Miu came to school, she ate at Gaetano's.
4. Weiting fell asleep while listen to music.
5. Thais was before looking at Fabio, while he was
looking at another girl.
6. While driving to school, Momoko daydreaming.
7. Before sleeping, you should not drink any coffee.
8. While drinking coffee, Lauriane was watching television.
