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The United States in the 1920s was buzzing with unprecedented economic growth, and the increase in public income led to the emergence of a new genre known as popular culture. Amid these social changes, in 1920, the U.S. implemented Prohibition, which banned the manufacturing, selling, and transporting of alcohol.

Ironically, this law spurred the growth of the leisure industries such as bootlegging, gambling, and prostitution, and provided a foundation for gangster organizations to flourish. This era could be considered the beginning of Hollywood gangster movies.
The movie “Scarface” (1983), famous for Al Pacino’s performance, is a remake of a film produced in 1932 with the same name. The protagonist of this movie, Tony Montana, expresses the philosophy of that era as follows:

Tony Montana: What I try to tell you? In this country, you gotta make the money first. Then when you get the money, you get the power. Then when you get the power, then you get the woman. That’s why you gotta make your own moves.

Let’s revisit the single-format English sentence structure we’ve emphasized.

Subject + Verb + (Who + What) + [Where + Why + How + When]

In English, you start with the subject and verb to directly state the conclusion and then address questions in the order mentioned above. Noun clauses are typically used to answer questions about ‘who’ and ‘what’. On the other hand, adverbial clauses can be placed in the spots for ‘where’, ‘why’, ‘how’, and ‘when’ in our single-format English sentence structure, which are exclusively reserved for adverbs. Adverbial clauses are essentially adverbs too. And adverbial clauses can be simply created by placing the conjunctions listed below at the beginning of the clause.

Types		Conjunctions
Where	Place	where, wherever
Why	causes	because, since, as
How	reasons	as
	effects	so that∼may (=in order that∼may). lest∼should(=for fear∼should), so∼that, such∼that,  so that
When	Time	when, while, as, before, after, till, until, since, as soon as

Adverbial Clauses of Place

DR. EMMETT BROWN: Roads? Where we’re going we don’t need roads. <BACK TO THE FUTURE, 1985>

Adverbial Clauses of Reason

SUGARPUSS O’SHEA: I love him because he’s the kind of guy who gets drunk on a glass of buttermilk, and I love the way he blushes right up over his ears. I love him because he doesn’t know how to kiss, the jerk! <BALL OF FIRE, 1941>

Adverbial Clauses of Manner and Result

Scarlett: As God is my witness, I’ll never be hungry again. (GONE WITH THE WIND: 1939)

YOUNG FORREST GUMP: Mama says, “Stupid is as stupid does.” <FORREST GUMP>

Helen: I want to enjoy things and have fun and live like every day is the last day. <The Last Time I Saw Paris>

Lawrence: As long as the Arabs fight tribe against tribe, so long will they be a little people, a silly people, greedy, barbarous, and cruel, as you are. <Lawrence Of Arabia (1962)>

Chance the Gardener: As long as the roots are not severed, all is well. <Being There>

John McClane: Hey, well, as far as I’m concerned, progress peaked with frozen pizza. <Die Hard 2>

Sollozzo: What are you worried about? If I wanted to kill you, you’d be dead already. <The Godfather>

Lucy: I started crying in the bathroom so (that) she thought we needed more time. <I’m Sam>

Adverbial Clauses of Time

Tony Montana: Then when you get the power, then you get the woman. <Scarface, 1983>

DIXON STEELE: I was born when she kissed me. I died when she left me. I lived a few weeks while she loved me. <IN A LONELY PLACE, 1950>

Rocky Balboa: There ain’t nothin’ over till it’s over. <Rocky Balboa>

ATTICUS FINCH: You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view, until you climb inside of his skin and walk around in it. <TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD, Universal, 1962>

Hans Gruber: When they touch down, we’ll blow the roof, they’ll spend a month sifting through rubble, and by the time they figure out what went wrong, we’ll be sitting on a beach, earning twenty percent. <Die Hard, 1988>

ZUZU BAILEY: Look, Daddy. Teacher says, “Every time a bell rings an angel gets his wings.” <IT’S A WONDERFUL LIFE, 1946>

GEORGE EASTMAN: I love you. I’ve loved you since the first moment I saw you. I guess maybe I’ve even loved you before I saw you. <A PLACE IN THE SUN, 1951>

Don Pedro Aragon: Clothes are like family. You have to live in them for awhile before you have the perfect fit. But you are doing great. <A Walk in the Clouds>

Conjunctive Adverbs

In addition to conjunctions, there are words that, while not conjunctions themselves, contain the meaning of connecting sentences as adverbs. Grammar books refer to these words as conjunctive adverbs, which connect words, phrases, and clauses, or clauses to clauses, making expressions more sophisticated and precise. This means that conjunctions and conjunctive adverbs are different. Conjunctions are one of the eight parts of speech that connect phrases or clauses. The words that lead subordinate clauses discussed above are conjunctions.

Conjunctions are broadly classified into coordinating conjunctions, correlative conjunctions, and subordinating conjunctions. Conjunctions that create subordinate clauses belong to subordinating conjunctions. On the other hand, conjunctive adverbs, not being conjunctions in the classification of parts of speech but rather adverbs, play the role of connecting the flow of sentences before and after them semantically. Let’s discuss their types and examples.

When expressing opposing opinions:

however, nevertheless, nonetheless, yet, still, otherwise

The Joker: At midnight, I blow you all up. If, however, one of you presses the button, I’ll let that boat live. <The Dark Knight, 2008>

MAUDE: L-I-V-E! Live! Otherwise, you got nothing to talk about in the locker room. <HAROLD AND MAUDE, 1971>

When explaining results:

accordingly, consequently, hence, so therefore, thus, as a consequence, as a result, likewise

Richard M. Nixon: Therefore, I shall resign the presidency effective at noon tomorrow. Vice president Ford will be sworn into office at that hour in this office. <Forrest Gump>

When adding extra explanation or changing the topic:

further, furthermore, moreover above all, meantime, meanwhile, by the way

Tom Hagen: I have a special practice. I handle one client. Now you have my number, I’ll wait for your call. By the way, I admire your pictures very much. <The Godfather, 1972>

Furthermore, the conjunctions and conjunctive adverbs we’ve talked about can be used together to form powerful expressions like “Not only A but also B.” These types of conjunctions are known as correlative conjunctions and are often taught in schools. They always come in pairs and are used to connect words, phrases, or clauses. Examples of correlative conjunctions include “either…or,” “neither…nor,” “both…and,” “not only…but also,” and “whether…or.” Correlative conjunctions are more emphatic than coordinating conjunctions, highlighting the connection between the combined ideas.

What follows is a scene from the movie <Wall Street> where the protagonist delivers a speech to the shareholders of Teldar Paper.

GORDON GEKKO: The point is, ladies and gentlemen, that greed, for lack of a better word, is good. Greed is right. Greed works. Greed clarifies, cuts through, and captures the essence of the evolutionary spirit. Greed, in all of its forms — greed for life, for money, knowledge — has marked the upward surge of mankind, and greed — you mark my words — will not only save Teldar Paper but also that other malfunctioning corporation called the USA. <Wall Street, 1987>