Coordinating Conjunctions

A coordinating conjunction, also called a coordinator, links parts of a sentence with the same status. This could be two independent (main) clauses, two noun phrases, adjectives, adverbials etc of equal importance.

They include: for, and, nor, but, or, yet,

There's a mnemonic for remembering them: FANBOYS.

For example:-

It was cold. I wore a coat.
Both sentences are valid on their own, but they can be written as, "It was cold, so I wore a coat."

I attended the meeting. + My friend attended the meeting. = My friend and I attended the meeting.

The three most often used coordinating conjunctions are and, or, and but.


The coordinating conjunction and usually expresses addition or combination.

For example:-

Poetria has a dog and Karen has two cats.

The coordinating conjunction but expresses a contrast.

We were tired but happy.

The coordinating conjunction or expresses choice.

For example:-

Would you like tea or coffee?

There are two negative coordinating conjunctions: neither and nor.

For example:-

She spoke neither German nor French. ("nor" must always be part of the "neither ... nor" construction).