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Coordinating Conjunctions

This document defines and provides examples of the seven coordinating conjunctions: for, and, nor, but, or, yet, and so. It explains that coordinating conjunctions join equal grammatical elements like words, phrases, and clauses. Examples are given to illustrate the different meanings and uses of each conjunction. Punctuation rules involving coordinating conjunctions when joining two or more elements are also outlined.

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Rex Villanueva Baco
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57 views

Coordinating Conjunctions

This document defines and provides examples of the seven coordinating conjunctions: for, and, nor, but, or, yet, and so. It explains that coordinating conjunctions join equal grammatical elements like words, phrases, and clauses. Examples are given to illustrate the different meanings and uses of each conjunction. Punctuation rules involving coordinating conjunctions when joining two or more elements are also outlined.

Uploaded by

Rex Villanueva Baco
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Coordinating

Conjunctions
Definition
O Coordinating conjunctions (FANBOYS)
FOR AND NOR BUT OR YET
SO

O Coordinating conjunctions
 join equals to one another:
            words to words,       
   phrases to phrases,         
clauses to clauses.
Examples
O
Word to word Most children like cookies
and milk.

Phrase to phrase The gold is hidden at the


beach or by the lakeside.

Clause to clause What you say and what you


do are two different things.
Coordinating conjunctions usually form looser
connections than other conjunctions do.
O Examples:
Marge was late for work, and she
received a cut in pay. (very loose)

Marge was late for work, so she


received a cut in pay. (loose)

Because Marge was late for work, she


received a cut in pay. (Subordinating
conjunction “because” creates a tighter
link between two ideas.)
Coordinating conjunctions go in between items
joined, not at the beginning or end.

O Examples:

Correct: I like coffee, but I don’t


like tea.

Incorrect: But I don’t like tea, I


like coffee.
Punctuation with
Coordinating Conjunctions
When a coordinating conjunction joins two words,
phrases, or subordinate clauses, no comma should
be placed before the conjunction.

Examples:

Words: cookies and milk

Phrases: at the beach or by the


lakeside

Subordinate clauses: what you say


and
what you do
A coordinating conjunction joining three or
more words, phrases, or subordinate
clauses creates a series and requires commas
between the elements.
A coordinating conjunction joining two independent
clauses creates a compound sentence and requires a
comma before the coordinating conjunction
Kinds of
Coordinating Conjunction
AND
 To suggest that one idea is chronologically sequential
to another:
“Curlyn sent in her applications and waited by the
phone for a response."
 To suggest that one idea is the result of another:
"Willie heard the weather report and promptly
boarded up his house."
 To suggest that one idea is in contrast to another
(frequently replaced by but in this usage):
"Joan is brilliant and Shane has a pleasant personality.
 To suggest an element of surprise (sometimes
replaced by yet in this usage):
"Hartford is a rich city and suffers from many
symptoms of urban blight."
 To suggest that one clause is dependent upon
another, conditionally (usually the first clause is an
imperative):
"Use your credit cards frequently and you'll soon find
yourself deep in debt."
 To suggest a kind of "comment" on the first clause:
"Charlie became addicted to gambling and that
BUT
 To suggest a contrast that is unexpected in light of the first
clause:
"Joey lost a fortune in the stock market, but he still seems
able to live quite comfortably."
 To suggest in an affirmative sense what the first part of the
sentence implied in a negative way (sometimes replaced
by on the contrary):
"The club never invested foolishly, but used the services of a
sage investment counselor."
 To connect two ideas with the meaning of "with the exception
of" (and then the second word takes over as subject):
"Everybody but Golden breath is trying out for the team."
OR
 To suggest that only one possibility can be realized,
excluding one or the other:
"You can study hard for this exam or you can fail."
 To suggest the inclusive combination of alternatives:
"We can broil chicken on the grill tonight, or we can just
eat leftovers.
 To suggest a refinement of the first clause:
"Smith College is the premier all-women's college in the
country, or so it seems to most Smith College alumnae."
 To suggest a restatement or "correction" of the first
part of the sentence:
"There are no rattlesnakes in this canyon, or so our guide
tells us."
 To suggest a negative condition:
"The New Hampshire state motto is the rather grim "Live
free or die."
 To suggest a negative alternative without the use of an
imperative:
"They must approve his political style or they wouldn't
keep electing him mayor."
NOR
The conjunction NOR is not extinct, but it is not used
nearly as often as the other conjunctions, so it might
feel a bit odd when nor does come up in conversation
or writing. Its most common use is as the little brother
in the correlative pair, neither-nor :

He is neither sane nor brilliant.
That is neither what I said nor what I meant.
 It can be used with other negative expressions:
“That is not what I meant to say, nor should you
interpret my statement as an admission of guilt.”
 It is possible to use nor without a preceding
negative element, but it is unusual and, to an
extent, rather stuffy:
George's handshake is as good as any written
contract, nor has he ever proven untrustworthy.
YET
The word YET functions sometimes as an adverb and has
several meanings: in addition ("yet another cause of trouble" or
"a simple yet noble woman"), even ("yet more expensive"), still
("he is yet a novice"), eventually ("they may yet win"), and so
soon as now ("he's not here yet"). It also functions as a
coordinating conjunction meaning something like "nevertheless"
or "but." The word yet seems to carry an element of
distinctiveness that but can seldom register.
 
John plays basketball well, yet his favorite sport is badminton.
The visitors complained loudly about the heat, yet they
continued to play golf every day.
In sentences such as the second one, above, the
pronoun subject of the second clause ("they," in this
case) is often left out. When that happens, the comma
preceding the conjunction might also disappear:
"The visitors complained loudly yet continued to
play golf every day."
Yet is sometimes combined with other
conjunctions, but or and. It would not be unusual to
see and yet in sentences like the ones above. This
usage is acceptable.
FOR
The word FOR is most often used as a preposition, of
course, but it does serve, on rare occasions, as a
coordinating conjunction. Some people regard the
conjunction for as rather highfalutin and literary, and it
does tend to add a bit of weightiness to the text.
Beginning a sentence with the conjunction "for" is
probably not a good idea, except when you're singing
"For he's a jolly good fellow. "For" has serious
sequential implications and in its use the order of
thoughts is more important than it is, say,
with because or since.
Its function is to introduce the reason for the
preceding clause:

John thought he had a good chance to get the


job, for his father was on the company's board of
trustees.
Most of the visitors were happy just sitting around
in the shade, for it had been a long, dusty journey
on the train.
SO
Be careful of the conjunction SO. Sometimes it can
connect two independent clauses along with a comma,
but sometimes it can't. For instance, in this sentence,

Michael is not the only Olympic athlete in his


family, so are his brother, sister, and his Uncle Chet.
Sometimes, at the beginning of a sentence, so will act
as a kind of summing up device or transition, and when
it does, it is often set off from the rest of the sentence
with a comma:

So, the sheriff peremptorily removed the child from


the custody of his parents.
End

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