{"id":17880,"date":"2022-03-24T15:26:20","date_gmt":"2022-03-24T15:26:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/?p=17880"},"modified":"2023-08-24T21:17:46","modified_gmt":"2023-08-24T21:17:46","slug":"coordinating-conjunctions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/coordinating-conjunctions\/","title":{"rendered":"Coordinating Conjunctions \u2014 The Definitive Guide"},"content":{"rendered":"<style>img#mv-trellis-img-1::before{padding-top:150%; }img#mv-trellis-img-1{display:block;}<\/style><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&ldquo;Coordinating conjunctions.&rdquo; What are these things again? I&rsquo;m pretty sure I&rsquo;ve heard of them before. Oh, wait. Aren&rsquo;t they those kids who are obsessed with superhero comics?&rdquo;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If this sentiment sounds familiar, then you are on the right page right now.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Roughly speaking, coordination is one of the fundamentals of grammar. Needless to say, it is quite important in speaking and writing.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">So, we&rsquo;ve covered the nooks and crannies of this topic for you.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Let&rsquo;s get right into it.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2><strong>What are coordinating conjunctions?<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><strong>Coordinating conjunctions, mnemonically known as FANBOYS, are connectors used in forming compound sentences. FANBOYS stands for &ldquo;for,&rdquo; &ldquo;and,&rdquo; &ldquo;nor,&rdquo; &ldquo;but,&rdquo; &ldquo;or,&rdquo; &ldquo;yet,&rdquo; and &ldquo;so.&rdquo; They link two equally complete and meaningful independent clauses, and they are preceded with a comma most of the time.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2><b>The 7 coordinating conjunctions &ldquo;FANBOYS&rdquo;: For, and, nor, but, or, yet, &amp; so<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">As you may have heard or read before, seven words make up the notorious set of coordinating conjunctions in English.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">For, and, nor, but, yet, and so comprise the popular mnemonic device FANBOYS. These words are grammatically identified as &ldquo;coordinating conjunctions.&rdquo;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">At first glance, these words may seem trivial because, well, we get to use them all the time. However, many people out there still don&rsquo;t fully get the hang of how to use the FANBOYS right.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The confusion mainly comes from punctuation-related matters. In particular, the rules on <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/comma-usage-fanboys\/\"><b>comma usage with FANBOYS<\/b><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> are what&rsquo;s mainly rocking the boat.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Coordinating conjunctions are used in building what we call compound sentences in grammar. These types of sentences are made up of two independent or stand-alone clauses.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Coordinating conjunctions and commas are soulmates. This is simply why relationship issues regarding the two cannot be avoided.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">To roughly get rid of the confusion, though, going over our quick <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/comma-cheat-sheet\/\"><b>comma cheat sheet<\/b><\/a> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">should be more than helpful.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">But, in retrospect, what exactly do FANBOYS do? And, is this topic even worth discussing?&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Apparently, it is. This knowledge should come in handy if you want to make your writing more precise, cohesive, coherent, or put simply &ndash; professional.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">So, why don&rsquo;t we go over these FANBOYS one at a time?<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3><b>The coordinating conjunction &ldquo;for&rdquo;<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In grammar, the word &ldquo;for&rdquo; belongs to two different parts of speech. Namely, it can be used either as a conjunction or preposition.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&ldquo;For,&rdquo; when used as a coordinating conjunction, means &ldquo;because&rdquo; or &ldquo;since.&rdquo; More precisely though, it suggests the meaning &ldquo;for the reason that.&rdquo;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">However, it could also be used as a preposition in building sentences. This happens when it is followed by a noun or pronoun afterward.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Interestingly enough, people also ask<\/span> <a href=\"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/is-for-an-adverb\/\"><b>whether &ldquo;for&rdquo; is an adverb<\/b><\/a> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">or not. This grammatical unrest is understandable because &ldquo;for&rdquo; is meanwhile used for introducing adverbials.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Adverbials are a group of words that can modify verbs, adjectives, as well as adverbs. Adverbials are useful because they answer how, when, how often, and why things happen.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Since &ldquo;for&rdquo; can start off <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.gallaudet.edu\/tutorial-and-instructional-programs\/english-center\/grammar-and-vocabulary\/adverbs\/adverbial-clauses\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><b>adverbial clauses<\/b><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and phrases and be used either as a conjunction or preposition, people normally find identifying its part of speech tricky.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">When we coordinate two independent clauses with the conjunction &ldquo;for,&rdquo; we aim at expressing a cause-and-effect relationship.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In between these cause-and-effect independent clauses, we need to use a necessary comma to mark their grammatical distinction.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Examples:<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"content-box-grey\"><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Please excuse me for being absent yesterday, <\/span><\/i><b><i>for <\/i><\/b><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I had been sick all day.<\/span><\/i><\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<div class=\"content-box-grey\"><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">He was chosen as his late father&rsquo;s successor, <\/span><\/i><b><i>for<\/i><\/b><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> he had outshined his siblings in managing their business.<\/span><\/i><\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<div class=\"content-box-grey\"><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I would like to express my deepest apologies to you, <\/span><\/i><b><i>for <\/i><\/b><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I was one of the main reasons why things went out of control.<\/span><\/i><\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3><b>The coordinating conjunction &ldquo;and&rdquo;<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The coordinating conjunction &ldquo;and&rdquo; is used to connect related ideas together. It is mainly used to add another idea to an existing one.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Unlike &ldquo;for,&rdquo; &ldquo;and&rdquo; only belongs to a single grammatical category &ndash; not unless you&rsquo;re dealing with electronic circuits because that&rsquo;s a whole different story.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If we go a mile deeper, we can also identify &ldquo;and&rdquo; as a form of additive conjunction. In this vein, it works the like the words &ldquo;furthermore,&rdquo; &ldquo;in addition,&rdquo; and &ldquo;besides.&rdquo;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If we apply the <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/comma-rules\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">comma rules<\/a><\/strong> for coordinating conjunctions, it is needless to say that a <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/comma-before-and\/\"><b>comma before &ldquo;and&rdquo;<\/b><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> should be used when it links two independent clauses.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Examples:<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"content-box-grey\"><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I went to the beach, <\/span><\/i><b><i>and<\/i><\/b><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> I swam for hours.<\/span><\/i><\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<div class=\"content-box-grey\"><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Dad goes to the garage every afternoon, <\/span><\/i><b><i>and<\/i><\/b><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> he does some dad stuff there.<\/span><\/i><\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<div class=\"content-box-grey\"><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You&rsquo;ll be cleaning the house in the morning, <\/span><\/i><b><i>and<\/i><\/b><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> you&rsquo;ll be mowing the grass in the afternoon.<\/span><\/i><\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<br>\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Aside from linking clauses, note that the conjunction &ldquo;and&rdquo; may also be used to create parallel structures and serial lists.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In general, you would need a<\/span> <a href=\"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/comma-before-and-in-a-list\/\"><b>comma before &ldquo;and&rdquo; in a list<\/b><\/a> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">if you follow the American English style. Also known as the Oxford comma, this serial comma is often dropped in British English.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Examples:<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"content-box-grey\"><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">(AmE) He likes the colors blue, red, <\/span><\/i><b><i>and<\/i><\/b><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> orange.<\/span><\/i><\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<div class=\"content-box-grey\"><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">(BrE) He likes the colors blue, red <\/span><\/i><b><i>and<\/i><\/b><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> orange.<\/span><\/i><\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<br>\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Meanwhile, parallel structures refer to the idea of using similar word patterns to suggest that they are equally important.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This parallel structure makes use of gerunds.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Example:<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"content-box-grey\"><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Alice likes snowboarding, deep-sea diving, <\/span><\/i><b><i>and<\/i><\/b><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> paragliding.<\/span><\/i><\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<br>\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This parallel structure makes use of infinitives, wherein the preposition &ldquo;to&rdquo; is usually omitted after the first item to avoid redundancy.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Example:<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"content-box-grey\"><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Sarah likes to cook, read, <\/span><\/i><b><i>and<\/i><\/b><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> write.<\/span><\/i><\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3><b>The coordinating conjunction &ldquo;nor&rdquo;<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Now, let us also talk about &ldquo;nor.&rdquo; In the simplest terms possible, &ldquo;nor&rdquo; is used to suggest the meaning &ldquo;not or.&rdquo;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This means that &ldquo;nor&rdquo; is used as a negating device in the English language. It is used to further cancel or deny the validity or truth value of the first idea given.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Like the other coordinating conjunctions introduced earlier, a<\/span> <a href=\"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/comma-before-nor\/\"><b>comma before &ldquo;nor&rdquo;<\/b><\/a> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">is necessary when it is used to link another independent clause in a compound sentence.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Examples:<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"content-box-grey\"><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">He does not like soda, <\/span><\/i><b><i>nor <\/i><\/b><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">does he like beer.<\/span><\/i><\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<div class=\"content-box-grey\"><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Amy hasn&rsquo;t been to Paris, <\/span><\/i><b><i>nor<\/i><\/b><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> has she gone anywhere in France.<\/span><\/i><\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<div class=\"content-box-grey\"><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I never wanted to cause you pain, <\/span><\/i><b><i>nor<\/i><\/b><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> have I ever intentionally considered doing so.<\/span><\/i><\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<br>\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Besides its conjunctive function, &ldquo;nor&rdquo; may also be used either as an adverb or noun. When used as an adverb, it becomes the literary form of &ldquo;neither.&rdquo;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Just like &ldquo;AND,&rdquo; &ldquo;NOR&rdquo; is meanwhile used in the field of electronics. It gives off a value of <a href=\"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/zeros-vs-zeroes\/\">zero<\/a>, and it is more popularly known as &ldquo;NOR gate.&rdquo;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Coordinating-Conjunctions-.jpg\"><noscript><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-24625\" src=\"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Coordinating-Conjunctions-.jpg\" alt=\"Coordinating Conjunctions\" width=\"1000\" height=\"1500\" srcset=\"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Coordinating-Conjunctions-.jpg 1000w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Coordinating-Conjunctions--200x300.jpg 200w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Coordinating-Conjunctions--683x1024.jpg 683w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Coordinating-Conjunctions--768x1152.jpg 768w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Coordinating-Conjunctions--640x960.jpg 640w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Coordinating-Conjunctions--720x1080.jpg 720w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Coordinating-Conjunctions--800x1200.jpg 800w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Coordinating-Conjunctions--150x225.jpg 150w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 760px) calc(100vw - 20px), 720px\" data-pin-media=\"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Coordinating-Conjunctions-.jpg\"><\/noscript><img loading=\"eager\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-24625 eager-load\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns='http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg'%20viewBox='0%200%201000%201500'%3E%3Crect%20width='1000'%20height='1500'%20style='fill:%23e3e3e3'\/%3E%3C\/svg%3E\" alt=\"Coordinating Conjunctions\" width=\"1000\" height=\"1500\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 760px) calc(100vw - 20px), 720px\" data-pin-media=\"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Coordinating-Conjunctions-.jpg\" id=\"mv-trellis-img-1\" data-src=\"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Coordinating-Conjunctions-.jpg\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Coordinating-Conjunctions-.jpg 1000w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Coordinating-Conjunctions--200x300.jpg 200w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Coordinating-Conjunctions--683x1024.jpg 683w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Coordinating-Conjunctions--768x1152.jpg 768w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Coordinating-Conjunctions--640x960.jpg 640w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Coordinating-Conjunctions--720x1080.jpg 720w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Coordinating-Conjunctions--800x1200.jpg 800w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Coordinating-Conjunctions--150x225.jpg 150w\" data-svg=\"1\" data-trellis-processed=\"1\"><\/a><\/p>\n<h3><b>The coordinating conjunction &ldquo;but&rdquo;<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">As you may have already learned before, &ldquo;but&rdquo; is a conjunction used for contrasts. This word links two ideas that are different or poles apart.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&ldquo;But&rdquo; can actually be used as a conjunction, preposition, adverb, and noun. When used as a coordinating conjunction, its job is to link two opposing independent clauses together.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Suggesting the same meaning as &ldquo;nevertheless&rdquo; and &ldquo;however,&rdquo; &ldquo;but&rdquo; is most likely the go-to connector in casual spoken contexts.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">As expected, a comma should also come before &ldquo;but&rdquo; when it is used to attach a secondary or latter-position independent clause.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Examples:<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"content-box-grey\"><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">India loves mice, <\/span><\/i><b><i>but <\/i><\/b><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">she hates cats.<\/span><\/i><\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<div class=\"content-box-grey\"><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Emma eats like a horse, <\/span><\/i><b><i>but<\/i><\/b><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> she never gains weight.<\/span><\/i><\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<div class=\"content-box-grey\"><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">My dog Bullet would like to go to the park, <\/span><\/i><b><i>but<\/i><\/b><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> it is too hot outside.<\/span><\/i><\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<br>\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Note, though, that a comma should not be used when using &ldquo;but&rdquo; to connect incomplete ideas, such as phrases and dependent clauses.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Example:<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"content-box-grey\"><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The new manager is intimidating <\/span><\/i><b><i>but<\/i><\/b><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> handsome.<\/span><\/i><\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<br>\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">When used as a preposition, no comma should come before &ldquo;but&rdquo; too.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Example:<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"content-box-grey\"><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">He said he&rsquo;d talk to nobody else <\/span><\/i><b><i>but<\/i><\/b><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> me.<\/span><\/i><\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<br>\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">When used as a noun, &ldquo;but&rdquo; is also less likely preceded or succeeded with a comma.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Example:<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"content-box-grey\"><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Don&rsquo;t give me any <\/span><\/i><b><i>buts<\/i><\/b><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. Just do what you&rsquo;re told to.<\/span><\/i><\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3><b>The coordinating conjunction &ldquo;or&rdquo;<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Like &ldquo;and,&rdquo; &ldquo;or&rdquo; is also used creating for parallel structures. However, &ldquo;or&rdquo; has more like a replacement or substitution function.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&ldquo;Or&rdquo; is used to replace an idea with an alternative one. Hence, it suggests the meaning &ldquo;alternatively&rdquo; or &ldquo;on the other hand.&rdquo;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Placing a <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/comma-before-or-after-or\/\"><b>comma before or after &ldquo;or&rdquo;<\/b><\/a> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">is also dictated by a few grammatical and stylistic forces, just like its closest kins &ldquo;and&rdquo; and &ldquo;but.&rdquo;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Examples:<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"content-box-grey\"><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Stop talking nonsense, <\/span><\/i><b><i>or<\/i><\/b><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> I will leave you here.<\/span><\/i><\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<div class=\"content-box-grey\"><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You can take that home with you, <\/span><\/i><b><i>or<\/i><\/b><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> you can just give that to someone else.<\/span><\/i><\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<div class=\"content-box-grey\"><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You had better start investing more in your health now, <\/span><\/i><b><i>or<\/i><\/b><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> you will regret it when it&rsquo;s too late.<\/span><\/i><\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<br>\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Like &ldquo;and,&rdquo; &ldquo;or&rdquo; is also used a lot for listing a series of items. So, once again, whether or not you should omit the final comma in a list depends on your style preference.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Not limited to that, your go-to strategy should also be dependent on your text&rsquo;s context and readability. At the end of the day, you are writing for your audience and not yourself.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3>&nbsp;<\/h3>\n<h3><b>The coordinating conjunction &ldquo;yet&rdquo;<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Also an adverb at the same time, the coordinating conjunction &ldquo;yet&rdquo; suggests the meaning &ldquo;but still.&rdquo; It can also join two independent clauses.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&ldquo;Yet&rdquo; has a contrastive function just like &ldquo;but.&rdquo; This means that it is used to link two opposing or conflicting ideas.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">However, unline &ldquo;but&rdquo;, &ldquo;yet&rdquo; is more likely used to introduce something that is especially surprising or unexpected.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Examples:<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"content-box-grey\"><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It is only 4 am, <\/span><\/i><b><i>yet<\/i><\/b><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> I am already awake.<\/span><\/i><\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<div class=\"content-box-grey\"><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Writers run out of ideas too, <\/span><\/i><b><i>yet<\/i><\/b><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> most of them know how to deal with this problem.<\/span><\/i><\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<div class=\"content-box-grey\"><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Mr. Walter is already a septuagenarian, <\/span><\/i><b><i>yet<\/i><\/b><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> he manages to run a good mile every morning and afternoon.<\/span><\/i><\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<br>\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Knowing when to place a <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/comma-before-or-after-yet\/\"><b>comma before or after &ldquo;yet&rdquo;<\/b><\/a> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">also has its own set of rules. These rules can only be mastered through practice and exposure.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A comma should always come before &ldquo;yet&rdquo; when it is used to introduce a complete clause. But bear in mind that &ldquo;yet&rdquo; may also be used as an adverb.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">When the adverb &ldquo;yet&rdquo; is used as the final word in the first clause, the comma should also come after it.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Example:<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"content-box-grey\"><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I haven&rsquo;t finished eating <\/span><\/i><b><i>yet<\/i><\/b><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, but you can start now.<\/span><\/i><\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3><b>The coordinating conjunction &ldquo;so&rdquo;<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">An adverb of degree at the same time, the last coordinating conjunction among the FANBOYS &ldquo;so&rdquo; is used to introduce cause and condition.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Suggesting the meaning &ldquo;for that reason,&rdquo; &ldquo;so&rdquo; is a conjunction used to express and link the effect or consequence of an action or event.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If you think about it, the coordinating conjunction &ldquo;so&rdquo; simply suggests the meaning &ldquo;that&rsquo;s why,&rdquo; &ldquo;therefore,&rdquo; &ldquo;thus,&rdquo; or &ldquo;hence.&rdquo;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Correctly using a <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/comma-before-after-so\/\"><b>comma before or after &ldquo;so&rdquo;<\/b><\/a> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">depends on grammar and style. So, while there are hard rules on the placement, writers could also tweak them as they wish.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Example:<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"content-box-grey\"><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I had run out of gas, <\/span><\/i><b><i>so<\/i><\/b><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> I went to the station.<\/span><\/i><\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<div class=\"content-box-grey\"><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The music was too loud, <\/span><\/i><b><i>so <\/i><\/b><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I couldn&rsquo;t hear you earlier.<\/span><\/i><\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<div class=\"content-box-grey\"><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">She used to be hotheaded as a puppy, <\/span><\/i><b><i>so<\/i><\/b><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> we named her Buttercup.<\/span><\/i><\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<br>\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Take note that &ldquo;so&rdquo; also suggests the meaning &ldquo;so that.&rdquo; When this happens, &ldquo;so&rdquo; is used to link a dependent clause, and therefore, no comma should be used before it.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Example:<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"content-box-grey\"><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Banks implement strict processes <\/span><\/i><b><i>so<\/i><\/b><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> as to ensure safety.<\/span><\/i><\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<div class=\"content-box-grey\"><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Please speak louder <\/span><\/i><b><i>so<\/i><\/b><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> we could hear you more.<\/span><\/i><\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<br>\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Finally, &ldquo;so&rdquo; may also be used as an adverb of degree to mean &ldquo;very&rdquo; or &ldquo;really.&rdquo; This usage should be easy to spot compared to the conjunctive ones.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Example:<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"content-box-grey\"><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It&rsquo;s <\/span><\/i><b><i>so<\/i><\/b><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> hot in Florida in July.<\/span><\/i><\/div>\n<div>&nbsp;<\/div>\n<div>Here&rsquo;s a recap of all of the coordinating conjunctions making up the FANBOYS.<\/div>\n<div>&nbsp;<\/div>\n<div>[table id=34 \/]<\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2><b>The role of coordinating conjunctions in grammar<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">From the expression itself, coordinating conjunctions are used to &ldquo;coordinate&rdquo; or harmonize equally important ideas.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In syntax, the coordination process helps us combine ideas into a shorter one. That said, it is admittedly useful in avoiding redundancy.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Coordinating conjunctions could actually form compound subjects and predicates, such as in &ldquo;Lily and Leilani&rdquo; and &ldquo;singing and dancing.&rdquo;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This particular sentence formation process is one of the fundamental features of English syntax.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">To understand coordination as well as other basic syntactic processes, our <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/syntax\/\"><b>beginner&rsquo;s guide to syntax<\/b><\/a> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">should be able to help you out.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">As we already know, coordinating conjunctions are used in forming compound sentences. Compound sentences are made up of two equally complete and meaningful clauses.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">That said, coordinating conjunctions are not used to connect an independent clause to a dependent clause because that&rsquo;s the job of <strong><a class=\"wpil_keyword_link\" title=\"subordinating conjunctions\" href=\"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/subordinating-conjunctions\/\" data-wpil-keyword-link=\"linked\">subordinating conjunctions<\/a><\/strong>.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Subordinating conjunctions meanwhile form &ldquo;complex&rdquo; rather than compound sentences. These kinds of sentences are at least one level higher than compounds.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Coordinating conjunctions do not operate in pairs either because that&rsquo;s the job of <strong><a class=\"wpil_keyword_link\" title=\"correlative conjunctions\" href=\"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/correlative-conjunctions-guide\/\" data-wpil-keyword-link=\"linked\">correlative conjunctions<\/a><\/strong>, which is way more advanced.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In a nutshell, coordinating conjunctions help us form similarly important ideas in a logical way. This makes the English language more creative and interesting to learn.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2><b>Special coordinating conjunctions other than FANBOYS: Although, whereas, and while<\/b><\/h2>\n[table id=36 \/]\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">While we&rsquo;ve already covered the most important parts of coordinating conjunctions, there are some special cases that we do have to consider too.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&ldquo;While,&rdquo; &ldquo;although,&rdquo; and &ldquo;whereas&rdquo; are three special conjunctions that belong under the subordinating type.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">However, they may also be used as coordinating conjunctions at times. When this happens, a comma essentially goes before each word.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&ldquo;Although&rdquo; can be used to mean &ldquo;but&rdquo; or &ldquo;however.&rdquo; &ldquo;While&rdquo; can be used to mean &ldquo;whereas&rdquo; or &ldquo;during that time.&rdquo; &ldquo;Whereas&rdquo; can mean &ldquo;although&rdquo; or &ldquo;while.&rdquo;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Pretty cool, right? To use these words effectively, you might want to check out <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/comma-before-whereas\/\"><b>how to use &ldquo;whereas&rdquo;<\/b><\/a> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">as well as &ldquo;while&rdquo; and&nbsp; &ldquo;although&rdquo;&nbsp; in detail during your free time.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2><b>Conclusion<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">By this point, we hope we have been able to help in refreshing your memory on one of the first things we learned about English grammar.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Here&rsquo;s the key takeaway: Whether we call them FANBOYS or coordinating conjunctions, we can never deny how useful these words are both in writing and speaking.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2><b>Frequently Asked Questions on &ldquo;Coordinating Conjunctions Guide&rdquo;<\/b><\/h2>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3><b>Is &ldquo;because&rdquo; a coordinating conjunction?<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&ldquo;Because&rdquo; is a subordinating conjunction and not a coordinating type. It is used to link the cause or reason behind an event.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3><b>Can you use a coordinating conjunction at the beginning of a sentence?<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Stylistically speaking, it is possible to use coordinating conjunctions like &ldquo;and,&rdquo; &ldquo;but,&rdquo; &ldquo;yet,&rdquo; &ldquo;so,&rdquo; and &ldquo;or,&rdquo; especially in informal and literary writing contexts. Idealistically and grammatically speaking, though, doing this is not encouraged by some grammarians.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3><b>What is a simple word for &ldquo;coordinating conjunctions&rdquo;?<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">FANBOYS is a simple word for &ldquo;coordinating conjunctions.&rdquo; Using this mnemonic device instead of the more technical expression is encouraged in the primary years of learning.<\/span><br>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\">\n{\n  \"@context\": \"https:\/\/schema.org\",\n  \"@type\": \"FAQPage\",\n  \"mainEntity\": [\n    {\n      \"@type\": \"Question\",\n      \"name\": \"Is &ldquo;because&rdquo; a coordinating conjunction?\",\n      \"acceptedAnswer\": {\n        \"@type\": \"Answer\",\n        \"text\": \"&ldquo;Because&rdquo; is a subordinating conjunction and not a coordinating type. 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Idealistically and grammatically speaking, though, doing this is not encouraged by some grammarians.\"\n      }\n    },\n    {\n      \"@type\": \"Question\",\n      \"name\": \"What is a simple word for &ldquo;coordinating conjunctions&rdquo;?\",\n      \"acceptedAnswer\": {\n        \"@type\": \"Answer\",\n        \"text\": \"FANBOYS is a simple word for &ldquo;coordinating conjunctions.&rdquo; Using this mnemonic device instead of the more technical expression is encouraged in the primary years of learning.\"\n      }\n    }\n  ]\n}\n<\/script><br>\n<!--FAQPage Code Generated by https:\/\/saijogeorge.com\/json-ld-schema-generator\/faq\/--><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&ldquo;Coordinating conjunctions.&rdquo; What are these things again? I&rsquo;m pretty sure I&rsquo;ve heard of them before. Oh, wait. Aren&rsquo;t they those kids who are obsessed with superhero comics?&rdquo; If this sentiment sounds familiar, then you are on the right page right now.&nbsp; Roughly speaking, coordination is one of the fundamentals of grammar. Needless to say, it &hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":17884,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"disable-in-feed":false,"article-schema-type":"","disable-critical-css":false,"_convertkit_action_broadcast_export":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[35,1116],"tags":[915],"class_list":["post-17880","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-english","category-grammar","tag-correlative-conjunctions"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17880","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17880"}],"version-history":[{"count":24,"href":"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17880\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":26812,"href":"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17880\/revisions\/26812"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/17884"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17880"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17880"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17880"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}