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Hello everybody and welcome
back to my channel, Sparkle
English, where I teach you how
to improve your level of
English. In today's lesson,
I'm going to teach you about
coordinating conjunctions:
for, and, nor, but, or, yet,
so. Coordinating conjunctions
are very important in English.
So let's get started. So what
are coordinating conjunctions?
Conjunctions are parts of
speech that join or connect
words, phrases, clauses or
sentences. They are like the
puzzle pieces of the English
language. Coordinating
conjunctions connect words,
phrases and clauses of equal
value in a sentence. And we're
going to talk about all seven
coordinating conjunctions. So
an easy way to remember the
seven coordinating
conjunctions is with the
acronym FANBOYS: for, and,
nor, but, or yet, and so. I'm
going to talk about each of
these individually. But first,
let's review all seven
quickly. The first
coordinating conjunction is
for, and for is used in the
same way as since or because.
For example, we left the party
early, for we were tired. This
is the same as saying, we left
the party early because we
were tired. The A in FANBOYS
is and, which is another way
of saying in addition to. For
example, I speak English and
Spanish, or I speak English in
addition to Spanish. The next
coordinating conjunction is
nor, which means and not, or
also not. For example, Joseph
is neither handsome nor kind,
which means Joseph is not
handsome, and he is also not
kind. It's like saying no
twice. The next coordinating
conjunction is but, which
means however. For example,
Ben can snowboard, but he
can't ski. Ben can snowboard.
However, he can't ski. The
next coordinating conjunction
is or, which is like either.
For example, do you want pizza
or pasta? You have to choose
if you want pizza or pasta.
Not both. The next conjunction
is yet, which shows contrast.
I am exhausted, yet I can't
fall asleep. Yet is very
similar to but. I am
exhausted, but I can't fall
asleep. And the last
coordinating conjunction is
so, which means therefore.
It's raining, so we shouldn't
go to the beach. It's raining.
Therefore, we shouldn't go to
the beach. So let's look at
each of these conjunctions in
more detail. The first one
being for, which again means
the same as since or because.
For explains a reason or
purpose. For example, I'm not
responding to his email, for I
don't want to argue. The
reason I'm not responding to
his email is because I don't
want to argue. She's not
eating sugar, for she wants to
lose weight. This is the
reason she's not eating sugar.
Lucas isn't going to work
today, for he has a headache.
Now in modern English, it's
not that typical to use for.
We are more likely to use
since or because. The next one
is and, which again means in
addition to.
And joins two or more ideas
together. For example, we are
having pizza and salad for
dinner, which means we are
having both pizza as well as
salad for dinner. Jeff is
funny and clever. He is both
of these things. Bethany plays
football, and Joey plays
hockey. The next conjunction
is nor, which again means and
not, or also not. Nor presents
a second negative idea. For
example, I haven't been to
Denmark, nor have I been to
Sweden. This means I have not
been to Denmark, or Sweden.
Brandon doesn't have a job,
nor does he want one. This
means he does not have a job,
and he does not want a job.
The next conjunction is but,
which means however. But
presents an opposing idea. For
example, I want to lose
weight, but I can't stop
eating junk food. Barry wants
to buy that video game, but he
doesn't have enough money
again. But is showing an
opposing idea. It's showing a
contrast. Even though Barry
wants to buy the video game,
he doesn't have enough money.
The second part of the
sentence opposes or contrasts
the first part of the
sentence. The next conjunction
is or, and or shows an option
or an alternative. You have to
choose between two or more
things. For example, should we
make cookies or cupcakes?
We're not going to make both.
We have to choose one or the
other. I can't decide if I
should study history or
philosophy. The next
conjunction is yet, which
shows contrast. Yet adds a
contrasting idea. And it is
used almost the same way as
but. Zoey studied hard for her
English exam, yet she failed.
Again, this shows a contrast.
She studied hard, but she
still failed. I have always
had dogs, yet cats are my
favorite animal. Again, it is
showing a contrast between the
second part of the sentence
and the first. And finally,
the last coordinating
conjunction is so, which means
the same as therefore. So
indicates an effect or result.
For example, Grandma wasn't
feeling well, so she went to
the hospital. So grandma
wasn't feeling well. And
because she wasn't feeling
well, as a result of this, she
had to go to the hospital.
This is the result or the
effect of Grandma not feeling
well. I love you, so I will
give you a second chance. You
can reverse the second part of
this sentence and add because.
She went to the hospital
because she wasn't feeling
well. I will give you a second
chance because I love you. So
I also have an important note
to talk about with
coordinating conjunctions. We
use a comma before a
coordinating conjunction when
the conjunction joins two
independent clauses. And an
independent clause is a
sentence that is a complete
thought. A sentence that can
stand alone. For example, I
love dogs and cats. We do not
use a comma before and because
cats is not an independent
clause. However,
I love dogs, and Tim loves
cats. Here, we put a comma
before the coordinating
conjunction because "Tim loves
cats" is an independent
clause. It is a complete
sentence that can stand alone.
Another example. Do you want
coffee or tea? Again, tea is
not an independent clause. So
we do not add a comma before
or. However, do you want
coffee, or would you like tea?
In this sentence example, we
use a comma before or because
"would you like tea" is an
independent clause. It is a
complete sentence. Okay, so
that is my full lesson on the
fanboys conjunctions. I would
like you to try practicing
using some of these
conjunctions in sentences. In
my next lesson, I will have a
full quiz on these
coordinating conjunctions. If
you have any questions, make
sure to ask me in the comments
section of this video. You can
check out more videos and
lessons like this one by
clicking on the description of
this video to see my different
playlists. Make sure to
subscribe to my channel for
more lessons like this one.
And I will see you in my next
lesson!
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About this lesson
Learn the 7 coordinating conjunctions in English using the FANBOYS acronym: for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so.