Parts of Speech: Coordinating Conjunctions

The word conjunction comes from Latin roots meaning "join with." In grammar, a conjunction is a joining word.

There are three main types of conjunctions in English: coordinating, correlative and subordinating. This article will focus on coordinating conjunctions.

What is a coordinating conjunction?

A coordinating conjunction is a joining word that connects things of equal value. It may join two or more nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, phrases or clauses.

What are the seven coordinating conjunctions?

The word fanboys is a memory tool that makes it easy to remember the seven coordinating conjunctions in English. This word is an acronym formed from the first letters of the seven conjunctions: for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so.

Note: The words but and for can also be used as prepositions. In that case, they will take an object (usually a noun or pronoun). The preposition and its object form a prepositional phrase.

• No one but Alexis knew the answer.
  (prepositional phrase)
• Alexis knew the answer but refused to speak.
  (conjunction joining two verb phrases)
• Jason brought a salad for the potluck.
  (prepositional phrase)
• Jason brought a salad, for he is a vegan.
  (conjunction joining two clauses)

What are the three most common coordinating conjunctions?

And, but and or are the three most commonly used coordinating conjunctions. They can be used to join almost any two or more words or word groups.

• Josh, Sarah and Zeke climbed down from the wagon seat. (3 nouns)
• Slowly and carefully, they led the oxen out of the creek. (2 adverbs)
• The struggling oxen rose but fell again in the mud. (2 verbs)
• At last, the wagon was on dry land but in poor condition. (2 phrases)
• Some of the spokes on the wheels were bent or broken. (2 adjectives)
• The travellers could walk to town, or they could camp by the creek. (2 clauses)

Note: When you use a coordinating conjunction between two independent clauses (sentences), you must put a comma before it, as in the last example above.

How do we use the other coordinating conjunctions?

Yet can be used in the same ways as but to join two contrasting ideas; however, yet gives more emphasis to the contrast.

• Alanna was groggy from jet lag, yet she sang brilliantly.

Nor means "and not"; it is used mainly to join independent clauses, but it requires a change in word order: part of the verb (or sometimes the entire verb) comes before the subject.

• He did not call, nor did he send a text message.
  (= and he did not send a text message)

For has a meaning similar to because—it indicates that the second idea is the cause of the first one:

• We set up camp early, for we were tired from the hike.
  (= because we were tired)

So has a meaning similar to therefore—it indicates that the second idea is the result of the first one:

• We were tired from the hike, so we set up camp early.
  (= therefore, we set up camp early)

To find out more about conjunctions, read the articles on correlative and subordinating conjunctions.