Conjunctions: Part 1 – Coordinating

Moving on to the next in the series of the parts of speech: conjunctions.

Say the word conjunction, and most people will respond with and.

And is the most common conjunction. Conjunctions are connecting words. There are actually two kinds of conjunctions, coordinating and subordinating. This week we will talk about coordinating conjunctions. Coordinating conjunctions connect words, phrases, clauses, and sentences. There are seven of them, and the initial letters make the “word” FANBOYS. So I call them the FANBOYS conjunctions: for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so.

Here are some examples of how conjunctions connect words, phrases, clauses, and sentences:

• bacon and eggs (connecting two words)
• to the movies or to the beach (connecting two phrases)
• after I eat dinner but before I go to bed (connecting clauses)
• I finished my chores, so I can go to the mall. (connecting sentences)

Connecting Sentences

Two or more sentences that are connected make a compound sentence. You can use a conjunction or you can use a semicolon to connect related sentences to make a compound sentence:

The meeting is at eight o’clock; we should get our coffee now.

The meeting is at eight o’clock, so we should get our coffee now.

When you use a semicolon, don’t use the conjunction.

What About Then?

Notice that there is no T in FANBOYS. Sometimes people try to connect sentences with the word then, but then is not a conjunction and cannot be used to connect sentences. 

I finished reading my book, then I returned it to the library. Not correct.

I finished reading my book, and then I returned it to the library. Correct.

I finished reading my books; then I returned it to the library. Correct.

Oxford Comma

The argument continues about whether or not to use a comma before the and in a series:

My favorite colors are blue, purple, pink and yellow. OR

My favorite colors are blue, purple, pink, and yellow.

Either one is fine. That comma is called the Oxford comma and is optional. I use it, and I advise everyone to use it. Sometimes it avoids confusion in a series. But it is up to you. One piece of advice: Use it or don’t use it, but be consistent in one piece of writing. Don’t use it in some places and not in others — unless you are not using it and then come across one instance where you think you need it for clarity.

Can I Start a Sentence with a Conjunction?

The old rule was that you could not start a sentence with a conjunction. The new rule is that you can. Most of the time, you start a sentence with a conjunction for effect or emphasis. I do it in my grammar books — and of course novelists do it in dialogue. But (I did it right there) beginning a sentence with a conjunction is fine in narrative too. You don’t want to start every sentence with a conjunction, you want to use an appropriate conjunction, and you want to have a reason for using a conjunction, which, remember, is still a connecting word…so it needs to connect with something you previously wrote.

Informal writing like promotional writing and advertisements certainly use conjunctions to begin sentences — when they even use complete sentences! However, for a business letter, a query letter, a job cover letter, a college entrance letter, I would stick to formal English and not begin sentences with conjunctions.

Other Parts of Speech

Weeks ago, we talked about words belonging to more than one part of speech. Some of the FANBOYS conjunctions can be other parts of speech:

FOR can also be a preposition:

• I cannot go out, for I have too much to do. (conjunction)
• I made a cake for you. (preposition)

YET can also be an adverb:

• She is small, yet very strong. (conjunction)
• Are we there yet? (adverb)

SO can also be an adverb:

• I did my job really well, so I got a promotion. (conjunction)
• This burrito is so big, I cannot finish it. (adverb)

NEXT WEEK: subordinating conjunctions