Coordinating Conjunctions

What are Coordinating Conjunctions?

Coordinating conjunctions are used to join or connect two or more words, phrases, or clauses.

What are a word, a phrase, and a clause? 

• Word – a distinct element of speech formed by letters to create a specific meaning.
• Phrase – a group of two or more words that functions as a noun, verb, adjective, or another part of speech.
• Clause – a group of two or more words that contains a subject and a verb that may or may not portray a complete thought. Sometimes, it can be a simple sentence.

When two or more words, phrases, or clauses (dependent or independent) are joined, coordinating conjunctions are used.

There are only seven coordinating conjunctions, abbreviated as FANBOYS:

• For
• And
• Nor
• But
• Or
• Yet
• So

When should each one be used?

For

For is used to give a reason for something. It primarily connects two independent clauses, introducing the second clause as the reason for the first. It functions as a more formal substitute for "because".

Examples:

• "I will not join the contest, for I am not good at feature writing."
• "She will go home, for she is sick."
• "The teacher scolded her students, for they did not submit their outputs on time."

Notice all sentences contain two independent clauses joined by for. The first clause expresses the effect; the second gives the reason. Replacing for with because keeps the meaning the same, but the comma is removed for correctness.

And

And joins words, phrases, and independent clauses, adding one element to another.

Examples:

• "Jasmine, Katie, and Rose are joining the dance club."
• "She is beautiful and smart."
• "Grace submitted her project, and she will go home now."

These show nouns added together, adjectives combined, and independent clauses linked by and.

Nor

Nor presents an additional negative idea when a negative idea already exists, often joining two negative independent clauses.

Examples:

• "She doesn't like coffee, nor does she enjoy tea."
• "The kids haven't tried Ginger tea, nor do they want to try it."
• "Rico is not tech-savvy, nor is he fond of technology."

In these, negative inversion occurs in the second clause, where the subject and verb order is reversed after nor.

Nor can also join two verbs, adjectives, or nouns (not just independent clauses):

• "She can't sing nor dance."
• "Tina isn't nice nor cool."
• "She can't eat shrimps nor lobsters."

Some grammarians prefer or instead of nor in such cases. Both are correct, so usage depends on preference.

But

But introduces contrast with previous information. It can join an independent clause to a phrase or another independent clause.

Examples:

• "She is smart but is not arrogant."
• "They want to join the football team, but they can't."
• "I would love to talk to you more, but we don't have a remaining time."

In the first, but links a clause to a phrase; in the others, it links two independent clauses presenting contrasting ideas.

Or

Or introduces options or alternative choices among adjectives, nouns, pronouns, phrases, or independent clauses.

Examples:

• "Would you like a cup of coffee or tea?"
• "We can go swimming, or go camping."
• "It's either she leaves in a few minutes, or she'll get caught in the rain."
• "What do you think of my dress, good, better, or best?"

Yet

Yet, like but, presents contrast but often implies surprise considering what is already known.

Examples:

• "The tea was too hot, yet I still had it."
• "The story was saddening yet full of moral lessons."
• "He made her cry many times, yet she still loves him."

So

So joins two independent clauses where the second clause is the result or effect of the first. It is the opposite of for, which gives reason.

Examples:

• "I'm tall, so these jeans don't fit me."
• "The teacher will be late, so let's just wait for her."

Both sentences are compound, linking cause and effect.