About Lesson
Co-Ordinating Conjunctions
Definition :
A coordinate conjunction joins words or word groups of the same kind and same importance.
Coordinating conjunctions link words or word groupings that have equal grammatical status within the sentence two nouns, two verbs, two clauses, etc. The six chief coordinating conjunctions are :
Examples
| and | (either) or | but |
| for | also | (neither) nor |
These six are subclassified according to function. The conjunctions and, (either)/or and (neither)/nor can link more than two clauses, whereas but, yet, and for cannot.
Use and to link words that are similar
Examples
| AND | |
|---|---|
| We buy fruit and vegetables at the grocery store | |
| A cat and its kittens | |
| It’s cold, wet and windy today | |
Examples
Use or to talk about choices
Examples
| OR | |
|---|---|
| Is this a sheep or a goat? | |
| A male or a female? | |
| Would you like pasta or rice? | |
Use but to link words that are different and do not normally go together.
Examples
| BUT | |
|---|---|
| Birds fly but cattle don’t | |
| The weather was sunny but cold | |
| The animal is large but timid | |
Use a comma before coordinating conjunctions that are followed by an independent clause
Examples
| He is 18 years old, and his brother, David, is 16 |
| I’m taller than he is, so people think I’m older |
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