"It was a peacful, albeit brief visit".
Someone asked on a forum what type of conjunction albeit was in this case.
I said that it was synonymous to 'although', so I said it was a subordinating conjunction. However, in this case, 'albeit' is definitely not a subordinating conjunction as it does not introduce a subordinate clause.
After realising this, I said that the sentence must be grammatically incorrect as 'albeit' can not join compund adjectives; coordinating conjunctions perform this role.
Am I correct to say this? The only reason I'm uncertain whether my answer is correct is because I hear although/albeit being used this way in speech.
I recommended he or she should use either a coordinating conjunction, alternatively, or re-write the sentence entirely so that 'albeit' introduces a subordinating clause:
"It was a peacful retirement although it was brief.'
"It was a peaceful yet brief visit."
"It was a peacful but brief visit"
Or do you disagree with me and think that 'albeit' can be used in the top sentence, and therefore, you think it is a different type of conjunction and not a subordinating conjunction...
Your answer/thoughts would be great!
Cheers.
Someone asked on a forum what type of conjunction albeit was in this case.
I said that it was synonymous to 'although', so I said it was a subordinating conjunction. However, in this case, 'albeit' is definitely not a subordinating conjunction as it does not introduce a subordinate clause.
After realising this, I said that the sentence must be grammatically incorrect as 'albeit' can not join compund adjectives; coordinating conjunctions perform this role.
Am I correct to say this? The only reason I'm uncertain whether my answer is correct is because I hear although/albeit being used this way in speech.
I recommended he or she should use either a coordinating conjunction, alternatively, or re-write the sentence entirely so that 'albeit' introduces a subordinating clause:
"It was a peacful retirement although it was brief.'
"It was a peaceful yet brief visit."
"It was a peacful but brief visit"
Or do you disagree with me and think that 'albeit' can be used in the top sentence, and therefore, you think it is a different type of conjunction and not a subordinating conjunction...
Your answer/thoughts would be great!
Cheers.
Comments
"It was a peaceful, albeit brief, visit".
I see nothing wrong with this sentence, although I'd add the comma as shown.
You could also say 'It was a peaceful visit, albeit a brief one.'
Best wishes, Clive
I agree that "albeit" may be used as a synonym for "although," which is listed as a subordinating conjunction.
So is your argument that you cannot use "although" in your sentence, "It was a peaceful, although brief, visit," because it does not introduce a subordinate clause, or that in this particular case it is not a subordinating conjunction because it does not introduce a subordinate clause?
I'm not really into these terms, but I should think if we describe something as "subordinating," we mean to say it has the power to render something else subordinate.
In other words, you have the cart before the horse, or the chicken before the egg, or something screwed up. The conjunction makes the clause subordinate, not vice versa. In other words, were you simply to change the conjunction, you would thereby change the meaning of the sentence. Is this possible?
Could it be possible that "albeit" and "although" are capable of rendering adjectives subordinate - as well as clauses?
It's been a cold, though beautiful, winter. vs. It's been a cold and beautiful winter.
- A.
A subodinate clause is synoymous to a dependent clause; however, in traditional terms, it refers only to adverb clauses.
If a clause has a subordinating conjunction (subordinator) immediately preceding it, then it is a subordinate clause.
'Although' is a subordinating conjunction, as is 'albeit.'
O.k. here is a defintion of subodinating conjunction from a site, which helps my case:
- connects only clauses and in doing so creates a subordinate clause.
http://www.grammaruntied.com/conjunctions/conjunctions.htmlA subordinating conjunction
So, since 'albeit' is a subordinating conjunction, it is now clear that it has to join clauses. In the original sentence, 'albeit' is not joining two clauses.
Do you now see my point?
Cheers.
1. "Albeit" and "although" have alternate uses as "some other" kind of conjunction which neither of us can seem to substantiate
2. Clive and I are wrong in saying that your sentence is fine. "It was a peacful, albeit brief visit".
(that seems to be the title of your thread)
There are four types of conjunctions:
1)Co-ordinating conjunctions-FANBOYS
2)Subodinating conjunctions-makes a clause dependent
3)Correlative conjunctions-either...or; neither...nor; but....also; etc.
4)Conjunctive adverbs- however, consequently, thus, therefore, etc.
Unfortunately, it cannot fit into any of these categories (other than, of course, #2).
2. Clive and I are wrong in saying that your sentence is fine. "It was a peacful, albeit brief visit".
According to what I know, it seems this way, but if someone enlightens me, that would be great! Perhaps, I am correct in saying this is grammatically incorrect, but because it is used regularly in speech (in this way), it has found its way into people's writing pieces.
Hmmm...interesting huh, lol.
Cheers.
I wonder who would know the answer, hmmmm. I normally refer to CJ; however, I don't think this is his field of expertise.