Notional grammars define conjunctions as words that “link together other words, phrases, and clauses.” Coordinating conjunctions are a type of conjunction that link, or coordinate, two or more words, phrases, or clauses. The seven coordinating conjunctions in English for, and, nor, but, or, yet, and so.
In grammar, a coordinator is a function word that joins together two or more words, phrases, or clauses. Only coordinating conjunctions can function as coordinators. Examples of coordinating conjunctions as coordinators include the following:
- My children enjoyed ‘Cars’ and ‘Cars 2.’
- My dog loves to eat salmon, but my cat prefers steak.
- I want chocolate cake or red velvet cupcakes for my birthday.
- We got no snow last winter, nor did we get much rain this spring.
- The ground was dry, so I put the sprinklers on my garden.
- The assignment seems easy yet formidable.
Coordinating Conjunctions as Coordinators
References
Brinton, Laurel J. & Donna M. Brinton. 2010. The linguistic structure of Modern English, 2nd edn. Amsterdam: John Benjamins Publishing Company.
Hopper, Paul J. 1999. A short course in grammar. New York: W. W. Norton & Company.
Huddleston, Rodney. 1984. Introduction to the grammar of English. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
