Coordinating Conjunctions

Coordinating conjunctions are conjunctions are used to connect words, phrases, or clauses (independent clause) which have a similar position or the same grammatical structure in a sentence. There are seven conjunctions are used: for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so (commonly abbreviated fanboys to facilitate the recall).

Here are some examples of coordinating conjunctions in English and what they do:

for 

presents a reason ("He is gambling with his health, for he has been smoking far too long.").

and 

presents non-contrasting item(s) or idea(s) ("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.").

Examine the use of coordinating conjunctions that connect words with the word, phrase by phrase, and clause by clause (which were bold are conjunctions, whereas underlined is a word, phrase, or clause).

a. Word with the word (subject, predicate / verb, object)- You and I will come together.- It can be black, white or gray.- Most children like cookies and milk.- Lilacs and Violets are usually purple.
b. Phrase by phrase- The gold is hidden at the beach or by the lakeside.- Daniel's uncle Claimed that he spent most of his youth dancing on rooftops and swallowing goldfish.- Manufacturers must be free to develop their ideas and to package their products.- He reappeared a few minutes later looking Embarrassed yet Appearing otherwise unruffled.
c. Clause by clause- I wanted to sit in the front of the balcony, so I ordered my tickets early.- It's an old car, but it's very reliable.- It was raining, so I took my umbrella.- The sun is warm, yet the air is cool.- I do not care for the beach, but I enjoy a good vacation in the mountains.

The important thing to remember when using the coordinating conjunctions:
1. We recommend using conjunctions in the middle of a sentence. Conjunctions are located at the beginning of the sentence grammatically it is not advisable. Even so, to attract attention or assert additional other information relating to the preceding sentence, the sentence structure at the beginning of a sentence with a conjunction is now commonly used.
2. Use commas. If using clause use a comma before the conjunction. However, if the clause is short, for example in the sentence She is kind so she helps people, then it can not be used elsewhere. On the word / phrase, you should use a comma at the end of a word / phrase or before conjunctions that there are two or more words / phrases, such as the example above: It can be black, white or gray.
3. If you use independent clauses using clause. Each clause is connected by conjunctions should be able to stand alone as a sentence if conjunctions omitted.

Sentence in which the use coordinating conjunctions also called compound sentences.