Rama Van Basten

Dalam penggunaannya, apalagi dalam sebuah percakapan atau tulisan, terkadang kita sering menggunakan kalimat majemuk, yaitu suatu pernyataan yang terdiri dari beberapa kalimat. Kalimat-kalimat ini bisa saja saling menjelaskan atau berlawanan dan lain sebagainya. Untuk menghindari kesalahpahaman pendengar atau pembaca, maka kita perlu menggunakan "Connector" seperti dijelaskan di bawah ini:

1- Connecting ideas with AND:

Ketika kita ingin menggabungkan 2 item dalam sebuah kalimat (misalnya benda), maka kita tidak perlu menggunakan koma, namun apabila lebih dari 2, maka gunakanlah koma. Untuk item yang lebih dari 2, penggunaan koma sebelum kata "and" bisa digunakan, bisa juga tidak.

Namun apabila kita menghubungkan 2 kalimat, maka gunakan koma sebelum "and". Perhatikan dengan baik contoh-contoh kalimat di bawah ini:

• They saw a cat and a mouse.
• He saw a cat, a mouse, a man, and a woman.
• I opened the door, walked into the room, and sat down at my desk
• Their flag is red, yellow, and black.
• I saw a bird, and she saw a sun.
• I saw a bird. She saw a sun.

2- Connecting ideas with BUT and OR:

• I went to bed but couldn�t sleep.
• Is this a book or an exercise book?
• Did you order coffee, tea, or milk?
• I dropped the vase, but it didn�t break.
• I dropped the vase. But it didn�t break. (Juga Boleh)
• Do we have class on Monday, or is Monday holiday?
  

3- Connecting ideas with SO:

• I frequently use the e-mail, so I rarely write letters. We aren�t in the paper age anymore.
  

4- Using auxiliary verbs after but and and

• He doesn�t like coffee, but his wife does.
• She likes tea, but he doesn�t.
• He isn�t here, but she is.
• She won�t be here, but her husband will.
• They have learned Spanish, but she hasn�t.
• He likes Mathematics, and she does too.
• I don�t like some music, and she doesn�t either.
• I won�t go downtown, and he won�t either.
• They didn't pass the exam, but she did.

5- Using AND + TOO, SO, EITHER, NEITHER:

• She likes milk, and he does too.
• She likes milk, and so does he.
• She doesn�t like milk, and he doesn�t either.
• She doesn�t like milk, and neither does he.
• Do you like Math? So do I.

6- Connecting ideas with BECAUSE:

• He called his friend because he needed her.
• = Because he needed her, he called her.
  

7- Connecting ideas with even though/although:

• Even though (although) I was thirsty, I didn�t drink.
• = I didn�t drink even though (although) I was thirsty.