Glossary entry (derived from question below)
English term or phrase:
form looser connections
English answer:
One item is not dependent on the other; the sentence makes sense without one item
Added to glossary by
Alexandre Reis
Dec 29, 2015 10:56
8 yrs ago
English term
Brazil
form looser connections
English
Other
Linguistics
Coordinating conjunctions usually form looser connections than other conjunctions do.
http://www.towson.edu/ows/conjunctions.htm
http://www.towson.edu/ows/conjunctions.htm
Responses
| 4 +2 | One item is not dependent on the other; the sentence makes sense without one item |
Sheila Wilson
|
References
| Cause and effect |
Laura van Staveren
|
Responses
+2
29 mins
Sheila Wilson
Spain
Spain
Native in English
&
English
Spain
20 years producing 100% natural English
Native in: English (Variant: British) 
Works in: English, French to English
Related KudoZ points
:
31
Selected
One item is not dependent on the other; the sentence makes sense without one item
I don't know what else to say really. The link says the same thing. If you take the first example given:
'Most children like cookies and milk'
you can say:
'Most children like cookies.'
'Most children like milk.'
Both are valid sentences, and together they mean exactly the same as the example. The only thing connecting cookies and milk is that kids like both of them.
'Most children like cookies and milk'
you can say:
'Most children like cookies.'
'Most children like milk.'
Both are valid sentences, and together they mean exactly the same as the example. The only thing connecting cookies and milk is that kids like both of them.
Peer comment(s):
| agree |
philgoddard
: Yes, loose is the opposite of close.
8 hrs
|
|
True, thanks
|
|
| agree |
Yvonne Gallagher
11 hrs
|
|
Thanks
|
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer.
Reference comments
28 mins
Laura van Staveren
Netherlands
Netherlands
Native in English
&
English
Works in field
Netherlands
Language enthusiast
Native in: Dutch 
, English
Works in: Dutch to English, English to Dutch, Dutch, and 1 more.
Reference:
Cause and effect
Independent: It is raining hard.
Independent: We might get wet.
Loose connection with coordinating conjunction: It is raining hard, and we might get wet. (The reader isn't told that the reason they might get wet is the rain.)
Stronger connection with subordinating conjunction: We might get wet because it is raining hard. Because it is raining hard, we might get wet. (The reader can see the cause and effect relationship)
Independent: We might get wet.
Loose connection with coordinating conjunction: It is raining hard, and we might get wet. (The reader isn't told that the reason they might get wet is the rain.)
Stronger connection with subordinating conjunction: We might get wet because it is raining hard. Because it is raining hard, we might get wet. (The reader can see the cause and effect relationship)
Discussion
Note also that the only thing that is "incorrect" about "But I don't like tea, I like coffee," is that there should be a semicolon, not a comma after "tea". The meaning is different from "I don't like tea, but I like coffee." Starting the sentence with "but" turns it into a complaint or whinge, while the sentence with "but" in the middle is just a simple statement. Similarly starting the sentence about Marge with "because" makes it an emphatic statement, while the similar sentence with "so" in the middle is an unstressed statement.