connector

connector (bindeord): connectors link together phrases, clauses, and sentences. They express such relationships as addition, contrast, and cause–effect. They are typically conjunctions (co-ordinating or subordinating) or conjunct adverbials. In relative clauses, the relative pronoun functions as connector (at the same time as it has another syntactic function in the relative clause, e.g. subject or object). Note that conjunct adverbials function syntactically as adverbials, while conjunctions have no other syntactic function than that of connector.