Words, phrases and clauses

FANBOYS—for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so

TWO INDEPENDENT CLAUSES

A coordinator expresses a relationship (reason, addition, negation, contrast, option, contrary outcome, or
result) between two like (same kind) words, phrases or clauses. Without coordinators, the reader is left to
guess the relationship between two related sentences in a paragraph.

CLAUSE 1 CLAUSE / SENTENCE 2

FOR — REASON

Fans love to watch Anna. She dances beautifully.

AND — ADDITION / CONJUNCTION

She is a graceful dancer. People enjoy watching her.

NOR (NOT OR)

She hasn't taken dance lessons. She doesn't need to.

BUT — CONTRAST

Her technique is unconventional. The effect is striking.

OR — OPTION / ALTERNATIVE

She can fill an audience with joy. She can bring people to tears.

*YET — CONCESSION
Other dancers try to imitate her style. They have not succeeded.

*SO — RESULT

She is talented. She will attract fans for many years to come.

ONE COORDINATED CLAUSE

A coordinator joins two clauses of equal syntactic importance into one sentence and clarifies the
relationship between the two parts. Adding coordinators to written or spoken English improves the flow of the
words and the ability of the reader or listener to comprehend the content.

CLAUSE 1 COORDINATED CLAUSE 2

FOR — REASON

Fans love to watch Anna, for¹ she dances beautifully.

"for the reason that"

AND — ADDITION

She is a graceful dancer, and people enjoy watching her.

"also"

NOR (NOT OR)

She hasn't taken dance lessons, nor does she need to.
"and not"

BUT — CONTRAST

Her technique is unconventional, but the effect is striking.

"in contrast"

OR — OPTION / ALTERNATIVE

She can fill an audience with joy, or she can bring people to tears.
"one of the two options"

*YET — CONCESSION

Other dancers try to imitate her style, yet they have not succeeded.
"an unexpected or surprising outcome"

*SO — RESULT
She is talented, so she will attract fans for many year to
come. (result)

In Context

WITHOUT COORDINATORS

Fans love to watch Anna. She dances beautifully. She is a graceful dancer. People enjoy watching her.
She hasn't taken dance lessons. She doesn't need to. Her technique is unconventional. The effect is
striking. She can fill an audience with joy. She can bring people to tears. Other dancers try to imitate
her style. They have not succeeded. She is talented. She will attract fans for many years to come.

WITH COORDINATORS

Fans love to watch Anna, for¹ she dances beautifully. She is a graceful dancer, and people
enjoy watching her. She hasn't taken dance lessons, nor does she need to. Her technique is
unconventional, but the effect is striking. She can fill an audience with joy, or she can bring people to
tears. Other dancers try to imitate her style, yet they have not succeeded. She is talented, so she will
attract fans for many years to come.

GLOSSARY

audience (N) – a group of people who come to watch and listen to someone speaking or performing in public

bring to tears (expr.) – cause someone to feel deep emotion (cause to cry)

fan (N) – (1) something that creates a cool current of air; (2) a person who is an admirer, a follower; a sports fan

¹for – coordinator relating reason "because" (uncommon in US-Eng)

graceful (Adj) – moving in a smooth, attractive, pleasing way

imitate (V) – mimic, perform or act like

lines (N) – the artistic outline of the body (silhouette) in dance

many years to come (expr.) – a long time in the future

succeed (V) – manage to do something that you desired to do

striking (Adj) — visually appealing; eye-catching

talent (N) – having a special ability to do something, as in the arts

tears (N) – a drop of salty liquid that comes out of the eyes when crying

technique (N) – training; skills in a particular art

unconventional (Adj) – not following the usual standards, individualistic

unique (Adj) – the only one, like no other

yet (adverb) – "up to now" "so far"; He hasn't arrived yet.

yet (connector) – unexpected outcome; contrary to expectation

 FANBOYS is an acronym made from the first letter of each coordinator.

clause – an independent clause (traditional term for a clause that can stand alone as a sentence) | a finite clause

(linguistic description) See Finite / Nonfinite.

concession (N) – admit that something does not logically fit with the previous statement; give away a point in an

argument or in a game

contrary (Adj) – opposite in nature, character or reasoning; illogical; having an unexpected

outcome See Cause-Effect Terms

contrast (N) – a difference, an unlikeness in comparison with something else

result (N) – a second action happens because another action happens first; effect

*for, yet and so share properties of both coordinators and subordinators. See coordinator vs.

subordinator section below.

Also see Run-On Sentences, Clause / Fragment and Subject / Predicate.

Coordinators
Join like structures

Words, Phrases and Clauses

COORDINATED SUBCLAUSAL ELEMENTS

 A coordinator joins equivalent elements from same categories: two nouns, noun phrases, verbs,
verb phrases, adverbs, adverb phrases, adjectives, adjective phrases, prepositional phrases. [sub-
clausal]
ELEMENT A COORD ELEMENT B

She waved a fan (NP) and a feather. (NP)

She lost her balance (VP) but did not fall. (VP)

Did she dance in the afternoon(PP) or in the evening? ( PP)

COORDINATED CLAUSES

A coordinator also joins clauses. In traditional description, the clause following the coordinatoris
called a dependent clause. In linguistic description, two finite clauses are said to becoordinates of the
coordinator.

CLAUSE A COORD CLAUSE B

She waved a fan, and then she waved a feather. (CL)

She lost her balance, but we did not notice it. (CL)

Did she dance in the matinée, or did she cancel the

performance?(CL)

Finite / Nonfinite clause; NP –noun phrase; N – noun; VP – verb phrase; V – verb; Comp – complement; Det –

determiner; Adj – adjective; AdjP – adjective phrase; PP – prepositional phrase; P – preposition; Sub –

Subordinator

coordinate (V) – place in equal order, rank, division

subordinate (V) – place in a lower order, rank, division

equivalent/like structures — words, phrases or clauses capable of functioning in the same way
 See Grammar Notes (below) for terms in various grammar systems.

Punctuation
Set off a clause with punctuation

A comma vs. a semicolon

TWO INDEPENDENT CLAUSES SPECIFICALLY RELATED

The use of a comma before a coordinator depends on clause length. A shorter clause may be joined
without a comma; however, a longer, more complicated clause is joined with a comma to aid the reader in
understanding which parts are being coordinated.

COMMA

Jack took a taxi, and Karen drove home.

Jack took a taxi and Karen drove home.

Jack didn't want help, nor did he ask for it.

Jack didn't want help nor did he ask for it.

Jack wanted to go late, but Karen didn't.

Jack wanted to go late but Karen didn't
Karen had to go, so she called a friend who lived nearby to come, pick her up and drive her
home.

TWO INDEPENDENT CLAUSES SOMEHOW RELATED

A semicolon may also be placed between two independent clauses when the ideas of the two
clauses are closely related. No coordinator is used; the relationship must be understood (guessed) from the
context.

SEMICOLON

Jack took a taxi; Karen drove home. (addition)

Jack didn't want help; he didn't ask for it. (negative addition)

Jack wanted to go late; Karen wanted to go on time. (contrast)

Karen had to go; she called a friend who lived nearby to come, pick her up and drive her
home. (result)

comma use – "In coordination, punctuation is commonly used to separate one coordinate from the next. The

comma is the default mark; under certain conditions, however, a semicolon (but not a colon) is used instead…

(Huddleston 20 §3.2.1)

"Usually a comma immediately precedes the conjunction" (Azar 16-4)

heavy vs. light punctuation — "For some writers, this comma use is an example of "heavy" punctuation. These

writers opt for "light" punctuation – no commas." (Huddleston 1727, 1746) (Swan 510.4)

Also see comma use in Comma Series.

Coordinator / Subordinator
Properties of FANBOYS

Do all FANBOYS function in the same way in a clause? Analyze them.

1) Join like grammatical elements

COORDINATOR

Connectives that coordinate content may only join like elements. That is, the elements must be syntactically
alike, of equal status. Do all FANBOYS share this property? Compare these coordinators to the
subordinators on the right.

EQUAL ELEMENTS ONLY

Karen went home, for she didn't feel well. (like: Cls + Cls)
Karen went home, for not feeling well. (unlike: Cls + Ger)

Karen called a taxi, and she left. (like: Cls + Cls)

*Karen called a taxi, and leaving. (unlike: Cls + Ger)

Karen didn't complain, nor did she insist. (like: Cls + Cls)
Karen didn't complain nor insisting. (unlike: Cls + Ger)

Karen went to a show, but she didn't feel well. (like: Cls + Cls)
*Karen went to a show, but not feeling well. (unlike: Cls + Ger)
Karen wanted to walk, or she wanted to take a taxi. (like: Cls + Cls)
Karen wanted to walk or take a taxi. (like: VP + VP)
Karen wanted to walk or taking a taxi. (unlike: Cls + Ger)

Karen wanted leave early, yet she stayed late. (like: Cls + Cls)
Karen wanted leave early, yet to stay late. (unlike: Cls + Inf)

Karen went home, so she could rest. (Cls + Cls)

*Karen went home, so resting. (Cls+Ger)

CONCLUSION

All FANBOYS (for, and, nor, but, or, yet and so) share the property of joining like elements—only.

SUBORDINATOR

Some connectives, depending on the meaning, can join like or unlike elements. Compare the following
subordinators (adjunct prepositions)—when, before, after, as, if, though, because and because of .

EQUAL OR UNEQUAL ELEMENTS

Karen went home when she didn't feel well. (Cls)

when not feeling well. (Ger)
when ill. (Adj)

Karen called a taxi before she left. (Cls)

before leaving. (Ger)
before us. (N)

Karen felt ill after she arrived. (Cls)

after her arrival. (NP)

Karen went home as she needed to rest. (Cls)

as needing rest. (Ger)
as tired. (Adj)
Karen could go home if she needed to rest. (Cls)
if needed. (Ger)
if necessary. (Adj)

Karen stayed though she was tired. (Cls)

though tired. (Adj)
despite her tiredness. (NP)

Karen called a taxi because she was tired (Cls)

because tired. (Adj)
because of her tiredness. (NP)

CONCLUSION

Depending on the meaning, some subordinating connectives can be followed by unlike elements.
(FANBOYS cannot.)

* not used / ? borderline usage (requires a special context)

as (P) – since, because

like (Adj) — of the same form, appearance, kind, character, amount, etc

"Restriction to binary constructions" X (and) Y and Z. 15 §2.11)

"Coordinates must be syntactically alike" (Huddleston 15 §2.1.b)

Also see elements that follow After / Before / Since / When.

2) Are placed mid-position only

COORDINATOR
Connectives that coordinate content may only be placed between the two coordinates. Do
all FANBOYSrequire mid-placement?

COORDINATOR MID-POSITION ONLY

Karen wanted to leave, for she had a headache.

*For she had a headache, Karen wanted to leave.

Karen wanted leave, and we wanted to stay.

*And Karen wanted leave, we wanted to stay.

Karen didn't complain, nor did she insist.

*Nor did she complain, she didn't insist.

Karen wanted leave early, but we wanted to stay.

*But we wanted to stay, Karen wanted to leave.

Karen wanted to walk, or she wanted to take a taxi.

*Or Karen wanted to walk, she wanted to take a taxi.

Karen wanted to leave, yet she stayed until the end.

*Yet she stayed and talked, Karen wanted to leave.

Karen wanted to leave the theater, so she called a taxi.

*So she called a taxi, Karen wanted to leave.

CONCLUSION

All FANBOYS (for, and, nor, but, or, yet and so) share the property of only being placed between the two
coordinates (coordinated clauses), not before them.

SUBORDINATOR

Connectives that subordinate content may be placed with their content before or after the main clause. They
support "fronting", being move before the main clause.

SUBORDINATOR — FRONT OR MID-POSITION

Karen wanted to leave after she got a headache.
After she got a headache, Karen wanted to leave.

Karen wanted to leave as she was feeling bad.

As Karen was feeling bad, she wanted to leave.

Karen was feeling fine before the show started.

Before the show started, Karen was feeling fine

Karen wanted leave though we wanted to stay.

Though Karen wanted leave, we wanted to stay.

Karen wanted leave because her head hurt.

Because Karen's head hurt, she wanted to leave.

Karen wanted to leave though the show hadn't ended.

Though the show hadn't ended, Karen wanted to leave.

We all decided to leave together when Karen asked.

When Karen asked, we all decided to leave.

CONCLUSION

Subordinating connectives, such as when, before, after, if, and because, share the property of placement
between or before both clauses. (FANBOYS do not.)

* not used / ? borderline usage (requires a special context)

theatre (EN-Br) theater (EN-US)

"Impossibility of fronting an expanded coordinate" (Huddleston 15.2.1.d)

3) Allow the reversal of clauses ( A + B = B + A)

 COORDINATOR ( A + B = B + A)

Connectives that coordinate content such as and, but and or share the property of reversibility. That is,
interchanging the coordinates (clauses) does not affect the meaning of the sentence. Do all
the FANBOYSshare this property?

REVERSIBLE

Karen wanted to leave, and we wanted to stay.

We wanted to stay, and she wanted leave.

Karen didn't complain, nor did she insist.

She didn't insist, nor did she complain.

Karen wanted to leave, but we wanted to stay.

We wanted to stay, but Karen wanted to leave.

Karen walked home, or she took a taxi.

Karen took a taxi, or she walked home.

CONCLUSION

FANBOYS and, nor, but, or share the property of reversibility. Clause order does not matter; it does not
affect meaning. [ A+ B = B + A]

SUBORDINATOR ( A + B ≠ B + A)
Connectives that subordinate content such as when, though, and because do not share the property of
reversibility. That is, the order of the clauses affects the interpretation or makes the sentence nonsense.

NOT REVERSIBLE

Karen called a taxi before she left. (After/ Before/ When, etc.)
*Karen left before she called a taxi. (not reversible)

Karen walked though she was tired.

*Karen was tired though she walked.

Karen called a taxi because she needed to leave.

*Karen needed to leave because she called a taxi.

Karen wanted to leave as she was feeling bad.

Karen was feeling bad as she wanted to leave.

Karen wanted to leave, for it was late. (for – reason)

*It was late, for she wanted to leave. (not reversible)

Karen wanted to leave early, yet she stayed late.

*Karen stayed late, yet she wanted to leave early.

Karen wanted to leave, so she called a taxi.

*Karen called a taxi, so she wanted to leave.

CONCLUSION

FANBOYS for, yet and so do not share the property of reversibility. Clause order matters; it affects
meaning. [ A+ B ≠ B + A] They are more like subordinating connectives in this respect.

* not used / ? borderline usage (requires a special context)

"Order of coordinates—In the simplest cases, the order of bare coordinates is free, s o that we can change the

order without discernible effect on interpretation or acceptability…" (Huddleston 15 §1.4)

 4) Cannot be placed one after the other

COORDINATOR

Words in the same category should share similar usage. We would not expect to be able to
use twocoordinators in a row. These FANBOYS cannot occur together.

*Karen wanted to leave, and but we didn't. (?)

*Karen wanted to leave, and or we didn't. (?)

CONCLUSION

FANBOYS but and or cannot be placed after and. Therefore, we would expect them them to function in the
same way and be unable to occur together (be members of the same category).

SUBORDINATOR

The following FANBOYS can occur together, one after the other.

Karen wanted to leave, and yet we didn't.

Karen wanted to leave, but yet she stayed.

Karen had a terrible headache, and so she took an aspirin.

~Karen took an aspirin, but so she had an allergic reaction.

CONCLUSION

FANBOYS yet and so can be placed after and or but. Therefore, we would guess that the usage
of yetand so differs from and and but. This is expected of members from different categories.
 Conclusion

FANBOYS are an unusual grouping of words because they do not all function in the same
way. And, but, or and nor have the properties of coordinators. However, for, yet, and so have
some properties of coordinators and some properties of subordinating connectives. See Connective
Adverbs and Connector Overview.

The above is an example of how words can be analyzed based on their functions. Lexical (word)
categories include members that function in a similar way. These functions are called properties. By
testing the properties of a word (how a word functions in a clause), we can determine which category
a word belongs to. For example, a word ending in -ing could be a noun, a verb, a gerund, or a
participle. See Gerund-Participle for a closer look at this testing process.

Common Mistakes
Focus and Solutions

Error and Solution

ERROR

*We went food shopping, and bought dinner. (clause + phrase)

*We bought meat, and vegetables. (noun + noun)

*We went food shopping and he washed the car. (clause + clause)

Place a comma before "and" when joining two independent clauses – both elements have a subject and a

verb.

We bought meat, vegetables, and fruit. (OK – items in a series)

*Leave your luggage with your responsibility. (?)

Pop-Q Leave

SOLUTION

We went food shopping and bought dinner.

We went food shopping as well as bought dinner.
We went food shopping plus bought dinner.
Not only did we go food shopping, but also we bought dinner.
We went food shopping, then we bought dinner.
We went food shopping, and we bought dinner.
We went food shopping. Also, we bought dinner.

We bought meat and vegetables.

A comma is unnecessary before and when joining two small similar sentence elements—verb phrases, noun phrases,
adjective phrases, adverb phrases, and so on.

We went food shopping, and he washed the car.

We went food shopping. And he washed the car.
We went food shopping; he washed the car. (semicolon)
We went food shopping. He washed the car. (period)

We bought meat, vegetables and fruit.

We bought meat, vegetables, and fruit. (See "Oxford Comma".)
Place a comma after items in a series. Add the last item (fruit) with an optional comma before and.
You may leave your luggage, but it is your responsibility to watch it.
Leave your luggage at your own risk.

Initial Coordinators
Beginning a sentence with and, so or but

The Miracle Puppy (article without punctuation)

An old cage with five puppies was left outside of an Oklahoma animal shelter but the animal shelter
was overcrowded and the puppies were very weak. There was no more room for five puppies so they
had to euthanize (kill) them.

All of the puppies except one died. In fact, they euthanized one puppy twice but he wouldn't
die so instead they decided he was a miracle puppy and found him a good home!

euthanize (V) "mercy kill"

miracle (N) – extraordinary

"Oklahoma Puppy Survives Euthanasia, Will Now Get A Home." Oklahoma City, News9. 2 Mar 2011. Web. 5 Feb
2014. <http://www.news9.com/global/story.asp?s=14167428>.

Mid-sentence vs. Initial sentence Position

MID-SENTENCE
For some writers, a coordinator (and, but, so, or, yet) is only used between two independent
clauses(separated by a comma.) That is, a coordinator should not be used at the beginning of a sentence.

The animal shelter was overcrowded, and the puppies were very weak.

There was no more room for five puppies, so they had to euthanize them. kill

They euthanized one puppy twice, but he wouldn't die. (contrast)

The vet decided he was a miracle puppy, and he found him a good home!

AT THE BEGINNING OF THE SENTENCE

For many writers, including journalists and academic writers, a coordinator is used both between two clauses
and at the beginning of a sentence.

The animal shelter was overcrowded. And the puppies were very weak. (emphasis)

There was no more room for five puppies. So they had to euthanize them. (emphasis)

They euthanized one puppy twice. But he wouldn't die. (emphasis)

So the vet decided he was a miracle puppy. And he found him a good home!

euthanize (V) – "put to sleep", kill in order to end pain and suffering

over crowded (Adj) – too many items in a space

 veterinarian / vet (N) – doctor who treats animals

Pop-Q "but" | The miracle puppy's story.

Nunberg, Geoff. "So, What's The Big Deal With Starting A Sentence With 'So'?." NPR. 03 Sept 2015. Web. 3

Sept 2015. <Link>

Comments by Grammarians
Beginning with "and", "but" or "or"

What grammarians have to say about beginning a sentence with and or but:

and. 3 There is a persistent belief that it is improper to begin a sentence with And, but this prohibition
has been cheerfully ignored by standard authors from Anglo-Saxon times onwards. An initial And is a
useful aid to writers as the narrative continues. The OED provides examples from the 9c. to the 19c.
(Burchfield and Fowler 52)

but. 2 Used at the beginning of a sentence. The widespread public belief that But should not be used
at the beginning of a sentence seems to be unshakable. Yet it has no foundation. In certain kinds of
compound sentences, but is used to introduce a balancing statement of the nature of an exception,
objection, limitation or contrast to what has gone before; sometimes, in its weakest form, merely
expressing disconnection, or emphasizing the introduction of a distinct or independent fact. In such
circumstances, but is most commonly placed after a semicolon, but it can legitimately be placed at the
beginning of a sentence and frequently is. (Burchfield and Fowler 121)

and 1. Everybody agrees that it's all right to begin a sentence with and, and nearly everybody admits
to having been taught at some time in the past that the practice was wrong. Most of us think the
prohibition goes back to our early school days. Bailey 1984 points out that the prohibition is probably
meant to correct the tendency of children to string together independent clause or simple declarative
sentences with ands... (Merriam-Webster 93)
but 1. Part of the folklore of usage is the belief that there something wrong in beginning a sentence
with but: "Many of us were taught that no sentence should begin with but. If that's what you learned,
unlearn it—there is no stronger word at the start. It announces total contrast with what has gone
before, and the reader is primed for the change." —Zinsser 1976 (Several more quotes and examples
are included.) (Merriam-Webster 211)

Beginning a sentence with a conjunction. There is a widespread belief—one with no historical or

grammatical foundation — that it is an error to begin a sentence with a conjunction such as and, but,
or so. In fact, a substantial percentage (often as many as 10 percent) of the sentences in first-rate
writing begin with conjunctions. It has been so for centuries, and even the most conservative
grammarians have followed this practice. Charles Allen Lloyd's 1938 words fairly sum up the situation
as it stands even today: "Next to the groundless notion that it is incorrect to end an English sentence
with a preposition, perhaps the most wide-spread of the many false beliefs about the use of our
language is the equally groundless notion that it is incorrect to begin one with 'but' or 'and'. (CMOS
5.191)

Beginning a sentence with and or some other coordinating conjunction (but, or or nor) can be an
effective means—if not overused—of giving special attention to the thought that follows the
conjunction. No comma should follow the conjunction at the start of a new sentence unless a
parenthetical element occurs at that point. (Sabin 1101)

Also see (Azar 16-4)

Resources are listed below.