Coordinating conjunctions, commonly referred to as FANBOYS, are essential tools to connect your sentences smoothly. Getting them right is crucial for making your writing clear and flowing. I will tell you how.
What are coordinating conjunctions?
Coordinating conjunctions are words used to connect items, whether they are individual words, phrases, or clauses, that have equal grammatical function or parallel structure in a sentence. The most common coordinating conjunctions are For, And, Nor, But, Or, Yet, and So. Together, we remember them as FANBOYS.
Coordinating conjunctions join words
When coordinating conjunctions join two or more words, those words should be the same part of speech. The words are the same type : a noun with a noun, an adjective with an adjective, etc.
Example :
Do you have a pencil or pen?
She bought beautiful and fresh flowers.
Coordinating conjunctions join phrases
A phrase is a group of words that work as a single unit in a sentence. A phrase doesn’t have both a subject and a predicate (verb) like a complete sentence does.
When coordinating conjunctions join phrases, the phrases must have the same grammatical type. For instance, noun phrase with noun phrase, adjective phrase with adjective phrase, and so on.
Examples :
My sister and her best friend went to the colorful park together.
She bought a soft and comfortable sofa for her living room.
Coordinating conjunctions join independent clauses
A clause is a group of words that has a subject and a verb. An independent clause is a clause that forms a complete sentence. When two independent clauses are closely related, coordinating conjunctions join them to make a compound sentence. We always put a comma (,) before a conjunction if it connects two independent clauses.
Examples :
I wanted to go to the beach, but it started raining heavily.
I need to finish my homework, or I won’t be able to go out.
I’m using two grammar books for help: English for Everyone and Understanding and Using English Grammar. They explain the grammar clearly and provide useful exercises.
Let me show you some examples I’ve made using these books.
1. For
As a coordinating conjunction, “for” connects two independent clauses and it’s placed in the middle of the sentence.
Use “for” when :
- You want to explain a reason
- You’re bored with the word “because”
- You want to make it sound a little bit like old-style English
For example :
We went to the supermarket yesterday. (clause 1)
There was a big discount at the supermarket yesterday. (clause 2)
Use “for” to connect those independent clauses :
We went to the supermarket yesterday, for there was a big discount.
Another example :
- He’s famous, for he’s handsome and generous.
- I practiced my speech beforehand, for I wanted to be well-prepared.
2. And
Use “and” to :
- Join two sentences
Example :
There’s a cinema in the mall. There’s a vegan restaurant in the mall.
There’s a cinema and a vegan restaurant in the mall.
- Join two nouns
Example :
I like coffee. I like tea.
I like coffee and tea.
- Join two adjectives
Example :
She’s beautiful. She’s kind.
She’s beautiful and kind.
- Join two verbs
Example :
My dog runs when I come home.
My dog jumps when I come home.
My dog runs and jumps when I come home.
No comma needed before “and” when it connects two parts of parallel structure (Azar et al. 359).
For a list of more than two items, replace “and” with a comma.
Example :
- There’s a cinema in the mall.
There’s a vegan restaurant in the mall.
There’s a café in the mall.
There’s a cinema, and a vegan restaurant, and a café in the restaurant. (wrong)
There’s a cinema, a vegan restaurant, and a café in the restaurant. (correct)
But when “and” connects two independent clauses, place a comma before “and”.
Example :
- My sister called me. She asked me to come over.
My sister called me, and she asked me to come over.
3. Nor
You usually see “nor” comes with “neither”. “Nor” can come alone, too.
Using “nor with neither”
We pair “nor” with “neither” to join two or more negative sentences. There’s no comma needed.
For example :
- I don’t like ketchup. I don’t like mustard.
I like neither ketchup nor mustard.
- I don’t like ketchup. I don’t like mustard. I don’t like mayonnaise.
I like neither ketchup nor mustard nor mayonnaise.
What if the items are a mix of singular and plural things?
Just use the nearest noun so it still follows the subject-verb agreement.
The situation : You have one sister and three brothers.
- Your sister is not a good cook. Your brothers are not good cooks.
Neither my sister nor my brothers are good cooks.
Or
Neither my brothers nor my sister is a good cook.
Using “nor” without “neither”
We use “nor” to join two negative sentences. The comma comes before “nor”.
For example :
- My sister doesn’t like vegetables. She doesn’t drink enough water
My sister doesn’t like vegetables, nor does she drink enough water.
When to use “or” instead of “nor”
When the second negative item is a noun, an adjective, or an adverb phrase, you should use “or”.
No comma is needed.
For example :
- He’s not interested in dancing. He’s not interested in singing.
He’s not interested in dancing nor singing. (wrong)
He’s not interested in dancing or singing. (correct)
- The soup isn’t salty nor spicy. (wrong)
The soup isn’t salty or spicy. (correct)
- He didn’t come before nor after the movie. (wrong)
He didn’t come before or after the movie. (correct)
When to use either “nor” and “or”
When the second negative item is a verb phrase, you can use both. No comma is needed.
For example :
- My father will not give me money.
My father will not pick me up from the party.
My father will not give me money nor pick me up from the party. (correct)
My father will not give me money or pick me up from the party. (correct)
4. But
“But” is used to contrast two clauses, like ideas or events. Sometimes it connects a positive statement to a negative statement.
For example :
- There’s a restaurant in the hotel. There isn’t a swimming pool in the hotel.
There’s a restaurant in the hotel, but there isn’t a swimming pool.
- I went to the supermarket, but I forgot my purse.
- My mother likes dancing, but she doesn’t like singing.
5. Or
“Or” is used to :
- List two or more options or alternatives.
For example :
Do you want to go to Peru?
Do you want to go to Brazil?
Do you want to go to Peru or Brazil?
I can’t decide whether to cook pasta or noodles.
- Talk about consequences of an action
For example :
Don’t be late, or you’ll miss the plane.
(Notice that a comma appears here. Because it connects two independent clauses : “Don’t be late” clause and “you’ll miss the plane” clause.)
6. Yet
“Yet” has a similar meaning to “but”. It shows contrast, unexpected results or facts.
Example :
- John has a lot of money. John couldn’t buy a car.
John has a lot of money, yet he couldn’t buy a car.
- It’s a sunny day. Ricardo’s wearing a sweater.
It’s a sunny day, yet Ricardo’s wearing a sweater.
Sometimes we can use “yet” to emphasize a fact as we feel annoyed or disappointed. We put “and” before yet and no comma.
Example :
- I’ve told Diana to come home early. Diana is still at the party.
I’ve told Diana to come home early and yet she’s still at the party.
- Diana has asked that man to be quiet and yet he keeps talking during the concert.
7. So
Use “so” to show something happens as a result of something else.
Example :
- It was a sunny day. We went to the beach.
It was a sunny day, so we went to the beach.
- Alfonso moved to Italy, so he speaks Italian quite well now.
- I’m a vegetarian, so I don’t eat at McDonald’s.
Some of the FANBOYS are not always used as coordinating conjunctions. “For” can be a preposition. “So” can be used as a subordinating conjunction. “Yet” can serve as an adverb. Check the other use of FANBOYS on my post Prepositions : What and How to Use It Correctly and Adverbs of Time : Easy Examples to Understand Better.
Can we start sentences with coordinating conjunctions?
Yes, we can start sentences with conjunctions.
In informal writing, it’s common to see a sentence start with a conjunction.
For example :
- It was dark outside, and there was a storm.
It was dark outside. And there was a storm.
- She was tired, but she kept running.
She was tired. But she kept running.
Conclusion
Coordinating conjunctions connects words, phrases, or clauses with equal importance.
There are special rules for using commas with coordinating conjunctions. Mostly if they are connecting two complete ideas or independent clauses, we place a comma before the conjunctions.
Using coordinating conjunctions helps us to deliver shorter and clear sentences.
Grammar Book Reference
Azar, Betty, and Stacy Hagen. Understanding and Using English Grammar, Pearson Education, Hoboken, NJ, 2017.
Staff, Dorling Kindersley Publishing, and Tom Booth. Grammar Guide: A Complete Self-Study Programme. 2016.