What are “coordinating conjunctions”?

Coordinating conjunctions, or coordinators, are a subset of conjunctions used to join two or more words, phrases, or clauses. They always appear in the middle of a sentence.

List of Words

for/because/as : used for explanations

    Ex. "I was late for I had no ride."

and : used to join non-contrasting items or ideas

    Ex. "I can mash potato and do the twist."

nor : used to join non-contrasting negative ideas

    Ex. "I do not watch baseball, nor do I play baseball."

but : used to display contrasts or exceptions

    Ex. "I do not play soccer now, but I used to play as a kid."

or : used to join alternative items or ideas

    Ex. "Do you want to take my car, or should we take yours?"

yet : used to display contrasts or exceptions

    Ex. "I have heard bad reviews about that movie, yet I still want to see it."

so : used to display consequences

    Ex. "We save money every month so we can go on vacation in November."

(The acronym for remembering the coordinating conjunctions is "FANBOYS")

Usage

• Coordinating conjunctions joining individual words:

    Ex. "They fight all the time. They makeup all the time."
        becomes
        "They fight and makeup all the time."

• Coordinating conjunctions joining individual phrases:

    Ex. "We could drive there. We could fly there."
         becomes
        "We could drive or fly there."

• Coordinating conjunctions joining individual clauses:

    Ex. "I'm going home early. I do not have enough money."
         becomes
        "I'm going home early, for I do not have enough money."

External Links

Conjunctions : more examples of usage of coordinating and other types of conjunctions.

Grammar and Punctuation: Using Coordinating Conjunctions: rules on how to use punctuation when using coordinating conjunctions.