What is FANBOYS?

FANBOYS is a mnemonic acronym for remembering the seven most common coordinating conjunctions.

These coordinating conjunctions connect equally important ideas in a sentence. The acronym FANBOYS stands for , and, nor, but, or, yet, and so.

This easy-to-remember memory trick can be used in English when learning about coordinating conjunctions in compound sentences. Here's a fun song that helps kids learn the words that make up FANBOYS.

What are the FANBOYS?

As shown above and mentioned previously, the FANBOYS are for, and, nor, but, or, yet, and so.

This mnemonic acronym helps us remember the most common coordinating conjunctions in the English language. These words help us connect ideas in a sentence.

Let’s explore what defines coordinating conjunctions and how to use them.

What is a Coordinating Conjunction?

A coordinating conjunction is a connecting word placed between words, phrases, or clauses of equal grammatical value. You use coordinating conjunctions when you want to give the same amount of emphasis on two main clauses or want to compare two related ideas in one sentence.

Coordinating conjunctions are slightly different from other grammatical tools like correlative conjunctions and subordinating conjunctions.

While coordinating conjunctions connect two ideas or independent clauses, correlative conjunctions emphasize the relationship between the two independent clauses using words such as "neither" or "both" in addition to the FANBOYS. The conjunction pairs work together to highlight the relationship.

Meanwhile, subordinate conjunctions link together an independent clause with a dependent clause. They show a cause-and-effect relationship or a contrast between the clauses. Common subordinate conjunctions include "because," "since," and "though".

Grammatically, "so" can work both as a coordinating conjunction as well as a subordinate conjunction. Which one it is depends on the structure and meaning of "so" in the sentence.

For the purpose of this wiki, we’ll focus on coordinating conjunctions. Let’s look more closely at how these conjunctions join words, phrases, and independent clauses.

Coordinating Conjunctions: Joining Words

Coordinating conjunctions can connect words of equal importance in a sentence. These words can be nouns, adjectives, verbs, adverbs, and any other words that are of the same syntactical value.

The coordinating conjunctions "and" and "or" are also used regularly in a list or a series.

When there are multiple words in a sentence that are of the same importance, commas are used to separate them. In American English, a comma is typically used before the final conjunction in the list or series. This comma is known as the “serial comma” or the “Oxford comma.”

Coordinating Conjunctions: Joining Phrases

Similar to connecting equal words, these conjunctions join equal phrases. The same grammar rules shown above apply in these examples.

Coordinating Conjunctions: Joining Two Independent Clauses

An independent clause can be its own complete sentence because it has a subject and a verb. However, we will often use coordinating conjunctions to join independent clauses to help improve the flow of our work.

Let’s look at a series of independent clauses without the use of conjunctions:

I love staying up late.

I know this makes me tired.

My mother said this will impact my schoolwork.

I didn’t want to believe this.

I recently did poorly on a test.

I will now go to bed earlier.

Too many independent clauses without conjunctions can make a piece of writing, like the one above, feel blocky. Let’s see what happens when conjunctions are added:

When the sentences are written with a coordinating conjunction, the flow is more fluid. However, it’s important to remember to place a comma before the conjunction when connecting two independent clauses. This is because each independent clause is its own complete thought.

How to Teach Coordinating Conjunctions

Learning how to use coordinating conjunctions in writing mainly boils down to practice.

One of the best ways to teach conjunctions, including coordinating conjunctions, is to show sentences using these tools. You can do this on a whiteboard, on worksheets, or even in a game. Your students can then highlight or select the conjunctions in the sentences.

Commas are also an important element in writing sentences with coordinating conjunctions. If there are two independent clauses, a comma is necessary before the conjunction.

If one portion of the sentence is not a complete thought, then a comma is not necessary before the conjunction. The exception to this rule is when using "and" and "or" in a list or series.

Finally, it is possible to start a sentence with a coordinating conjunction. While this shouldn’t be done frequently, it's a good way to add emphasis to a writing piece. And it can make the flow of ideas more effective!

More Examples of FANBOYS used in Sentences

Here are some more examples of sentences using the FANBOYS coordinating conjunctions. You can use them to explain the use and meaning of the conjunctions in more detail. Or just add them to your collection of sentences for future reference.

For

"For" shows a reason or purpose. Using "for" in this way can often be seen as quite formal, and so is usually replaced with the word "because", "since", or "as".

And

"And" connects two similar ideas.

Nor

"Nor" can be interchanged with "neither" and compares a negative contrasting idea. Essentially, it’s the opposite of "and".

But

"But" compares two contrasting ideas or highlights an exception.

The coordinating conjunction but can also be used in a way that says, "not this, but that".

Or

"Or" highlights two choices.

Yet

"Yet" is used in a way to show an exception or a contrast to an idea.

So

"So" is used to show a reaction or consequence. It has the same meaning as "therefore."

You might find this a good learning aid when looking at coordinating conjunctions with children in compound sentences, which they will need to be doing from third grade for the ELA Common Core Standards.

You can also see our tailored teaching resources on conjunctions for upper grades.

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