Coordinating Conjunction “A coordinating conjunction is a word which joins together two clauses which are both equally important”. 1. What is a clause? A clause is a unit which contains a subject and a verb. For example, “It was raining” is a clause; the subject is “it”, and the verb is “was raining”. Every sentence MUST contain at least one clause, but it may contain more than one. For example: •
It was raining, so I took my umbrella.
This sentence contains two clauses, “It was raining” and “I took my umbrella”. They are independent clauses because each one would be a good sentence on its own — each one is a “complete thought”. 2. Joining clauses together with coordinating conjunctions A coordinating conjunction usually comes in the middle of a sentence, and it usually follows a comma (unless both clauses are very short). These are the most important coordinating conjunctions: CONJUNCTION For And Nor But Or Yet So
FUNCTION Reason -‐ meaning “because” Addition -‐ joins two similar ideas together And not -‐ joining two negative alternatives Contrast -‐ joins two contrasting ideas Option -‐ joins two alternative ideas Outcome – meaning but Result -‐ shows that the second idea is the result of the first
ESPAÑOL Porque Y Ni -‐ Tampoco Pero -‐ Sino O Pero Así que -‐ por eso
FAN CLAUSE 1 FOR He couldn't go home. AND I took a taxi. NOR He didn't want help. BUT I wanted to go late. OR She cooked dinner. YET She owned a car. SO She had to go.
CLAUSE 2 He had no place to go. She drove home. He didn't ask for it She wanted to go on time. He took her out to a restaurant. She didn't know how to drive it. She called a friend to drive her.
COMPOUND SENTENCE /COORDINATE CLAUSES He couldn't go home , for he had no place to go. I took a taxi , and she drove home. He didn't want help, nor did he ask for it. I wanted to go late, but she wanted to go on time. She cooked dinner, or he took her out to a restaurant. She owned a car, yet she didn't know how to drive it. She had to go, so she called a friend to drive her.
3. Using coordinating conjunctions There are three things to remember when using coordinating conjunctions: A. Coordinating conjunctions join independent clauses. Each clause must be a “complete thought” which could be a sentence on its own. B.
With coordinating conjunctions, put the conjunction in the middle. You may see some sentences starting with “but” or “and”, but this is usually wrong, so it's best to avoid it.
C.
With coordinating conjunctions, use a comma unless both clauses are very short.