Practise Identifying Coordinating Conjunctions

In this activity, we’re going to refresh our knowledge on coordinating conjunctions.

Coordinating conjunctions are joining words which link ideas together.

Look at the two simple sentences below.

You can eat the sandwich in the fridge for lunch.

You can make a salad.

Can you think of a coordinating conjunction which could join these two sentences together to make one sentence?

We can link these two sentences together using the conjunction or to make one sentence.

You can eat the sandwich in the fridge for lunch or you can make a salad.

We use or to show another choice.

There are 7 coordinating conjunctions and we can use the acronym FANBOYS to help us remember them all.

For

And

Nor

But

Or

Yet

So

Which coordinating conjunction would fit the gap in the sentence below?

He neither has cake  ___  wants it!

Here, we would use the conjunction nor.

He neither has cake nor  wants it!

Nor is used when we are showing two negative outcomes.

The conjunction for is rather old-fashioned.

It’s a bit like saying because as the words that come after for explain the first part of the sentence.

He ran to the shops for he needed to buy milk.

Now you know when to use or, nor and for, you’ll be answering some questions about coordinating conjunctions.