A coordinating conjunction connects words, phrases, and clauses that are grammatically equal or similar.

Examples:

Words:
Romano spends his summer weekdays studying Math and Reading.

Phrases:
He never forgets to meet with his friends or take a swim in the river.

Clauses:
Romano teaches basketball to grade 4 pupils, and he takes care of the elders in the district hospital.

A clause is a phrase with a subject and a predicate. In the above example, the first clause is Romano teaches basketball to grade 4 pupils. The second clause is he takes care of the elders in the district hospital. Both clauses are connected together by the conjunction and.

A comma is sometimes placed before the coordinating conjunction to connect two clauses.

The most commonly used coordinating conjunctions are for, and, nor, but, or, yet, and so.

The coordinating conjunctions can be remembered by memorizing the mnemonics FANBOYS.

Its letters stand for for, and, nor, but, or, yet, and so.

You may use the conjunctions:

• For to explain purpose or reason
• And to add things or ideas
• Nor to express an alternative negative idea
• But and yet to show contrast
• Or to present an alternative or option
• So to introduce effect or result

When you use a conjunction to join individual words, the words must be of the same part of speech.

Examples:

• Nouns: Ruel and Christy
• Pronouns: he and she
• Verbs: read or play
• Adjectives: simple but elegant
• Adverbs: quickly yet artistically

A subordinating conjunction shows the relationship between two clauses - the dependent clause and the independent clause.

A dependent clause has a subject and a predicate but it does not form a complete sentence and cannot stand by itself. It makes the reader want additional information to finish the thought. A subordinating conjunction is placed at the beginning of every dependent clause. It indicates that the dependent clause is less important in relation to the independent clause.

Example:

because she loved the poor

An independent clause has a subject and a predicate and can stand alone. It is also called a sentence.

Example:

Blessed Teresa of Calcutta left her home in Albania.

A dependent clause is followed by a comma when it comes before the independent clause.

Example:

Because she loved the poor, Blessed Teresa of Calcutta left her home in Albania.

When the dependent clause comes after the independent clause, a comma sometimes comes before it for emphasis.

Example:

Blessed Teresa of Calcutta left her home in Albania, because she loved the poor.

Study these sentences:

I can do many things whenever I am with my friends.

I like to share stories because I love to share my ideas.

If we have time, we also share a few things about our families.

I learn how to be open while I am having fun with them.

In the above sentences, the words whenever, because, if, and while are subordinating conjunctions. They have been used to join the dependent clause with the independent clause.

Below are examples of common subordinating conjunctions.

after, however, until, although, if, when, as if, since, whenever, as long as, so that, where, as soon as, that, whether, because, that, while, before, unless