39 Conjunctions
Conjunctions are the words that join sentences, phrases, and other words together. Conjunctions are divided into several categories, all of which follow different rules. We will discuss coordinating conjunctions, adverbial conjunctions, and correlative conjunctions.
Coordinating Conjunctions
The most common conjunctions are and, or, and but. These are all coordinating conjunctions. Coordinating conjunctions are conjunctions that join, or coordinate, two or more equivalent items (such as words, phrases, or sentences). The mnemonic acronym FANBOYS can be used to remember the most common coordinating conjunctions: for, and, nor, but, or, yet, and so.
- For: presents a reason (“They do not gamble or smoke, for they are ascetics.”)
- And: presents non-contrasting items or ideas (“They gamble, and they smoke.”)
- Nor: presents a non-contrasting negative idea (“They do not gamble, nor do they smoke.”)
- But: presents a contrast or exception (“They gamble, but they don’t smoke.”)
- Or: presents an alternative item or idea (“Every day they gamble, or they smoke.”)
- Yet: presents a contrast or exception (“They gamble, yet they don’t smoke.”)
- So: presents a consequence (“He gambled well last night, so he smoked a cigar to celebrate.”)
Here are some examples of these used in sentences:
- Nuclear-powered artificial hearts proved to be complicated, bulky, and expensive.
- In the 1960s, artificial heart devices did not fit well and tended to obstruct the flow of venous blood into the right atrium.
- The blood vessels leading to the device tended to kink, obstructing the filling of the chambers and resulting in inadequate output.
- Any external injury or internal injury put patients at risk of uncontrolled bleeding because the small clots that formed throughout the circulatory system used up so much of the clotting factor.
- The current from the storage batteries can power lights, but the current for appliances must be modified within an inverter.
Practice
Are the correct coordinating conjunctions being used in each of the following sentences? Explain your reasoning why or why not:
- I love boxing or sewing. They’re both a lot of fun.
- Martin is pretty good at writing, for Jaden is better.
- Juana had to choose. Would she join the red team and the blue team?
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Show Answer
- The conjunction or presents an alternative. However, the second sentence indicates that the speaker enjoys both activities. The correct sentence would use and: “I love boxing and sewing. They’re both a lot of fun.”
- The conjunction for presents a reason. It’s unlikely that Jaden being better is the reason Martin is pretty good at writing, so a different conjunction should be used. But would be a good fit here, since the ideas contrast: “Martin is pretty good at writing, but Jaden is better.”
- The conjunction and presents non-contrasting items or ideas. Since the first sentence sets up a choice, we know that Juana can’t be on both te