Published Jan 13, 2019 Updated Aug 25, 2026 2 min read
Coordinating Conjunctions
“My told me not to start sentences with coordinating conjunctions unless I finish them,” Peter said. “But I won’t.”
“Won’t what?” I asked. “Start sentences with coordinating conjunctions or finish them?”
“Oh… now I get it. You’re pretty clever.”
“And so I am.”
Definition and Examples
A coordinating conjunction joins words, phrases, or clauses of equal importance or emphasis. The seven coordinating conjunctions are easily remembered by the acronym, FANBOYS (For-And-Nor-But-Or-Yet-So). Examples: Jack and Jill; thinking quickly; but acting slowly; She left her job early, so she would be able to clean the house before the guests arrived.
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Read the rules.
Frequently, teachers will tell their students not to begin their sentences with coordinating conjunctions. Teachers give this advice because many students who use these sentence beginnings often
Syntax in Reading and Writing Lessons and Worksheets
fail to complete their sentences and wind up with fragments. However, writers many begin sentences with coordinating conjunctions under the following conditions:
An independent clause (a subject and predicate expressing a complete thought) must follow the beginning coordinating conjunction.
Don’t begin too many sentences in an essay with coordinating conjunctions. Sentence variety is important, so don’t overuse the same sentence structure.
Practice
Write the following sentences and [bracket] the conjunctions.
Byron and Jake were late, not Pedro or Tamara.
Misty, my calico cat, loves to be petted, but hates to be scratched.
Mandy hates the smell of cotton candy yet loves the taste and texture.
Pedro refuses to sleep in the tent, nor will he sleep outside under the stars.
The Larsens stopped skiing and snowboarding, for these sports cost too much and take up so much of their leisure time.
Re-write the sentence to eliminate the fragment.
But do not start a sentence with a coordinating conjunction unless you finish it.
Answers
Byron [and] Jake were late, not Pedro [or] Tamara.
Misty, my calico cat, loves to be petted, [but] hates to be scratched.
Mandy hates the smell of cotton candy [yet] loves the taste and texture.
Pedro refuses to sleep in the tent, [nor] will he sleep outside under the stars.
The Larsens stopped skiing [and] snowboarding, [for] these sports cost too much [and] take up so much of their leisure time.
Teaching Essay Strategies | Step by Step Worksheets, Skills, and 8 Process Essays For more essay rules and practice, check out the author’s TEACHING ESSAYS BUNDLE.This curriculum includes 42 essay strategy worksheets corresponding to teach the Common Core State Writing Standards,8 on-demandwriting fluencies, 8 writing process essays (4 argumentative and 4 informative/explanatory), 64 sentence revisionand 64 rhetorical stance“openers,” writing posters, and helpful editing resources.
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Plus, get an e-comment bank of 438 prescriptive writing responses with an link to insert into Microsoft Word® for easy e-grading (works great with Google Docs),
Download the following 24 FREE Writing Style Posters to help your students learn the essay rules. Each has a funny or ironic statement (akin to “Let’s eat Grandma) to teach the memorable rule.
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Diagnostic reading and ELA assessments, each with its recording matrix.
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Teaching Grammar, Usage and Mechanics
Grade-level lessons, remedial worksheets keyed to the diagnostic assessments, and unit tests. $49.99 per grade, licensed per teacher.
The grammar and usage assessment and the mechanics assessment are both in the free toolkit. Each comes with a recording matrix that shows which conventions a student has and has not mastered, so instruction can be targeted instead of whole-class.
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Mark Pennington, M.A. Reading Specialist
Thirty-six years teaching ELA and reading, elementary through community college, plus district reading specialist. He wrote every program on this site.
