A conjunction is a part of speech that connects words, phrases, or sentences. The easiest conjunctions to remember are "and" and "or." But there are conjunctions that do more than just connect—they give meaning to a sentence by expressing the time that something is happening: conjunctions of time.

You can easily tell if a conjunction of time is being used in a sentence because the sentence will tell you when something happens or for how long something is occurring. If you can make a "when" or "for how long" question from the sentence, and that question can be answered by the other half of the sentence, then you know that the sentence is using a conjunction of time.

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In Part I, we learned about when, before, after, while, as, by the time, until, and till. Let's continue today with the remaining conjunctions of time.

Since

There have been ravens here since the reign of Charles the Second,

Caption 9, The London Story -  Tower of London

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And I've been doing that since I was ten years old.

Caption 6, Ashley Tisdale - Thanksgiving Traditions

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Be careful not to confuse the conjunction of time "since" with the preposition "since," which means "because."

As soon as

As soon as your baby is born, you will give it to me.

Caption 41, Fairy Tales - Rapunzel 

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As soon as we showed up, the bears raced off into the forest.

Caption 8, Alaska Revealed - Tidal Bores, Icebergs and Avalanches

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Whenever

You should try to ignore cyberbullying whenever possible.

Caption 4, Bob Parsons - Cyberbullies

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You can listen to Radio One whenever you want.

Caption 56, Hozier - Someone New

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The first (second, third etc.) time

The first time was a very good experience

and the second time is also a very good experience.

Captions 5-6, The Olympics - Teresa Gabriele (Canada)

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That was the third time we were in the studio.

Caption 22, MTV News - Selena Gomez Decodes Her Instagram Pics

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Further Learning
Go to Yabla English and find other sentences (not questions) that contain the conjunctions of time "since," "as soon as," "whenever," and "the first time"—or any time you care to choose! Write these sentences down and practice making questions and answers from the sentences like we did above.

The phrase "used to" is a great one to know in English, as it has three different functions. 

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1. First of all, "used to" is the participle of the verb "to use" combined with the preposition "to." Note that in this case the "s" in "use" is pronounced more or less like a "z." The sentences below are about something being utilized for a particular purpose:

Java isn't the same thing as JavaScript, which is a simple technology used to create web pages.

Captions 6-7, Business English - About Java

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"Kinda," for example, combines "kind" and "of," but the word "kinda" is most often used as a casual synonym for "rather," and is used to modify an adjective or an adverb.

Captions 16-18, English with Annette O'Neil - Colloquial Contractions

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2. The phrase “used to” can mean “accustomed to.” In this case, "used" is pronounced with a soft "s" rather than a "z" sound. To "get used to" something is to gain experience or become comfortable with it to the extent that you expect it: 

Now I know that you're used to seeing me in warmer climates.

Caption 1, British Gas - Top Tips on Preparing Your Home for Cold Weather

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I remember Madonna saying the colored contacts she wore for “Evita” were pretty uncomfortable and hard to get used to, for example.

Captions 45-46, Bohemian Rhapsody - Six Facts about the True Story

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3. When we talk about habitual actions in the past in English, i.e. something you did on a regular basis, we often use the construction “used to” + infinitive. Here, the "s" in "used" is also pronounced with an "s" sound.

It's a lot more interesting and enticing than it used to be.

Caption 35, Alaska Revealed - Tidal Bores, Icebergs and Avalanches

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...and I used to go there every Saturday and go to the market.

Caption 32, Creative Space - An Artist's Studio

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Further Learning
You can discover many instances of "used to" on Yabla English and get used to using this phrase yourself! As you can see, it is used to discuss not only practical uses, but also life experiences in the past and present. When you watch the videos, make sure you pay special attention to the difference in the pronunciation of the "s."