Compound Sentences with Coordinating Conjunctions (FANBOYS)

A compound sentence contains two separate subject and verb pairs. You can combine two simple sentences together with a comma and a coordinating conjunction to make one compound sentence. Here are some examples:

F for

I drank some water, for I was thirsty. She put on a sweater, for it was cold outside.

*for means the exact same thing as because. The only difference is that when you use for
to join two sentences together into one compound sentence, you need to use a comma before it. When you use because to join to sentences, you dont use a comma before it.

A and N nor

He was tired, and he had a headache. She doesnt drink milk, nor does she eat butter. I cant whistle, nor can I sing. He didnt study last night, nor did he read his book. They were not wearing jackets, nor were they carrying umbrellas.

*nor means also not. Nor requires unusual grammar. The first sentence will contain a
negative verb. The second sentence will contain what looks like an interrogative affirmative verb form. An auxiliary verb (do/does/did, is/am/are/was/were), modal verb (can/could/will/would/may/might/must/should), or be main verb (is/am/are/was/were) comes after nor and before the subject, and then the main verb comes after the subject.

B but O or

Tom studied a lot, but he didnt pass the test. He can buy the book, or he can borrow it from the library.

Y yet Tom studied a lot, yet he didnt pass the test. *yet means the same thing as but. S so

Maria was thirsty, so she drank some water. It was cold outside, so she put on a sweater.

There are only seven coordinating conjunctions in the English language, and they are easily remembered by the acronym FANBOYS:

Coordinating conjunctions signify the relationship between two independent clauses (IC), allowing the writer to specify meaning. In other words, when we construct a compound sentence using a coordinating conjunction, we ask our readers to understand that the two ideas logically relate to each other in the way in which we specify: Logic Addition Opposition, Contrast, Concession Cause Result or Effect Choice, Option, Alternative Coordinating Conjunctions and but, yet for so or, nor

In addition to signifying a specific relationship between ideas, the compound structure also tells the reader that the ideas in these clauses are valued equally: one idea is no more important than the other. I may choose to indicate contrast between ideas by using the coordinating conjunction "but," wanting my reader to see the difference(s) between my ideas, yet I am also indicating to my reader that each independent clause should be equally valued.

The pattern for compound sentences using coordinating conjunctions is really quite simple: IC ,cc IC. Examples: L. Frank Baum wrote The Wizard of Oz for his daughter, but the book was much more than a child's story. Baum's book is a political allegory, yet few people today would recognize the original events in this story. The Wizard of Oz is a story of economic reform, for Oz is short for ounce and referred to the gold standard, and the characters represented groups in American society. Baum's original readers did not fail to recognize William McKinley as the bumbling wizard, nor did they fail to recognize William Jennings Bryan as the cowardly lion. Note that in each example the coordinating conjunction, the FANBOYS, is preceded by a comma, just as the pattern specifies; the comma and coordinating conjunction work as a team, and the sentences would be grammatically incorrect unless both team members were present: Leaving out the comma and using just the FANBOYS results in a run-on

sentence.
Using just a comma without the FANBOYS results in a comma fails to specify the intended relationship.

splice--and

Exercise Now, write five to seven compound sentences of your own, using the pattern and five different FANBOYS. Check each Independent Clause (IC) to make sure you have included a subject and a verb. If your instructor has assigned this exercise, check the drop-down list to the left for her or his name.