Coordinating Conjunctions: Definitions and Examples

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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

Compound Conjunctions

Subordinating Conjunctions