Definition:
A paired conjunction that links balanced words, phrases, and clauses. The correlative conjunctions in English include the following:
both . . . and
either . . . or
just as . . . so
neither . . . nor
not only . . . but also
whether . . . or.
Etymology:
From the Latin, "to report, carry back"Examples:
- "Those who would give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety."
(Benjamin Franklin) - "To accomplish great things, we must not only act, but also dream; not only plan, but also believe."
(Anatole France) - "The man of knowledge must be able not only to love his enemies but also to hate his friends."
(Friedrich Nietzsche, Ecce Homo) - "Education is not the filling of a pail but the lighting of a fire."
(William Butler Yeats) - "The fascination of shooting as a sport depends almost wholly on whether you are at the right or wrong end of the gun."
(P. G. Wodehouse) - "Neither the life of an individual nor the history of a society can be understood without understanding both."
(C. Wright Mills) - "In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies but the silence of our friends."
(Martin Luther King, Jr.) - "It is difficult to produce a television documentary that is both incisive and probing when every twelve minutes one is interrupted by twelve dancing rabbits singing about toilet paper."
(Rod Serling) - "Either you decide to stay in the shallow end of the pool or you go out in the ocean."
(Christopher Reeve)
Pronunciation: kor-REL-i-tiv kon-JUNGK-shun
Also Known As: paired coordinator, conjunctive pair
