The Coordinating Conjunctions (FANBOYS)

FANBOYS- Joining Words 

FANBOYS are the coordinating conjunctions and we use those to join individual words, individual phrases, and independent clauses.

The meaning of coordinating is ‘of equal rank’.

The individual clauses which are joined by a coordinating conjunction are of equal rank.

Seven Coordinating Conjunctions

There are only seven coordinating conjunctions and those can be remembered with the acronym FANBOYS and those are-

In FANBOYS, we use- 

•  ‘F’  for coordinating conjunction For
•  ‘A’  for coordinating conjunction And
•  ‘N’ for coordinating conjunction Nor
•  ‘B’  for coordinating conjunction But
•  ‘O’  for coordinating conjunction Or
•  ‘Y’  for coordinating conjunction  Yet
•  ‘S’  for coordinating conjunction  So

Coordinating Conjunctions Joining Individual Words

We shall take some examples using FANBOYS in sentences and see how they join individual words.

‘For’– We use ‘for’ to explain the cause.

• She wants to meet her again, for she is a good administrator. 
• I want to solve this type of example, for it is very interesting.

‘And’– We use ‘and’ for the meaning of ‘in addition to’.

• We visited the museum and an art gallery on the same day.
• The players played football and tennis on that ground.

‘Nor’- We use ‘nor’ to explain the negative idea with non-contrast.

• He does not fight, nor does he quarrel.
• She does not draw a picture, nor does she write an article.

‘But’- We use ‘but’ to connect two things which are not in agreement.

• He is very rude, but she is very modest.
• It is a small but very useful court.
• The rose is black in colour but very attractive.

‘Or’- We use ‘or’ to show a choice between two things.

• Which car did you choose, white or yellow?
• You can purchase a handbag or a purse.

‘Yet’- We use ‘yet’ to tell the opposite with something.

• He studied very well, yet he didn’t score more.

‘So’- We use ‘so’ to explain a result of the previous sentence.

• His brother is fond of this song, so he downloaded it.

Coordinating Conjunctions Joining Individual Phrases

Here we shall see the use of Coordinating conjunction to join two individual phrases.

• The branch manager or his new deputy will conduct a meeting.
• The branch manager or Shravan will conduct a meeting.

Coordinating conjunctions joining individual clauses

The meaning of coordinating is ‘of equal rank’.

We use a coordinating conjunction to join the individual clauses of equal rank.

Let’s see some examples-

• He didn’t draw a picture, and he didn’t sing a song.
• She is fast, but she is not confident.
• He was annoyed, still, he was calm.

You may also like to learn about-

 Definition, meaning, and types of Conjunction