Editing Conjunction (grammar) (section)

==Coordinating conjunctions==
'''Coordinating conjunctions''', also called '''coordinators''', are conjunctions that join, or [[coordination (linguistics)|coordinate]], two or more items (such as words, main clauses, or sentences) of equal syntactic importance. In English, the [[mnemonic]] acronym ''FANBOYS'' can be used to remember the most commonly used [[English coordinators|coordinators]]: ''for'', ''and'', ''nor'', ''but'', ''or'', ''yet'', and ''so''.<ref>{{Cite book
 | last1 = Paul | first2 = Michael
 | last2 = Adams
 | title = How English Works: A Linguistic Introduction
 | place = New York | publisher = Pearson Longman
 | year = 2009 | edition = 2nd | page = 152 | isbn = 978-0-205-60550-7 }}</ref> These are not the only coordinating conjunctions; various others are used, including: "and nor" (British), "but nor" (British), "neither" ("They don't gamble, neither do they smoke"), "no more" ("They don't gamble, no more do they smoke"), and "only" ("I would go, only I don't have time").<ref>{{cite book |last=John|first=Algeo|title=British or American English? A Handbook of Word and Grammar Patterns |year=2006 |publisher=Cambridge Univ. Press}}</ref>{{rp|ch. 9}}<ref>{{cite book |editor-last=Burchfield |editor-first=R. W. |title=Fowler's Modern English Usage |url=https://archive.org/details/newfowlersmodern00fowl |url-access=registration |edition=3rd |year=1996|isbn=978-0-19-869126-6 }}</ref>{{rp|p. 171}} Types of coordinating conjunctions include cumulative conjunctions, adversative conjunctions, alternative conjunctions, and illative conjunctions.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.englishgrammar.org/kinds-coordinating-conjunctions/#TfMTBXsU1AACq83r.99 |title=Kinds of co-ordinating conjunctions|date=2010-08-25}}</ref>

Here are some examples of coordinating conjunctions in English and what they do:

*'''For''' – an ''illative'' (i.e. inferential), presents rationale ("They do not gamble or smoke, for they are ascetics.")
*'''And''' – a ''cumulative'', adds non-contrasting items or ideas ("They gamble, and they smoke.")
*'''Nor''' – presents an ''alternative'' non-contrasting (also negative) idea ("They do not gamble, nor do they smoke.")
*'''But''' – an ''adversative'', presents a contrast or exception ("They gamble, but they don't smoke.")
*'''Or''' – presents an ''alternative'' non-contrasting item or idea ("Every day they gamble, or they smoke.")
*'''Yet''' – an ''adversative'', presents a strong contrast or exception ("They gamble, yet they don't smoke.")
*'''So''' – an ''illative'' (i.e. inferential), presents a [[Logical consequence|consequence]] ("He gambled well last night, so he smoked a cigar to celebrate.")

Only ''and'', ''or'', ''nor'' are actual coordinating logical operators connecting atomic propositions or syntactic multiple units of the same type (subject, objects, predicative, attributive expressions, etc.) within a sentence. The cause and consequence (illative) conjunctions are pseudo-coordinators, being expressible as [[antecedent (logic)|antecedent]] or [[consequent]] to [[logical implication]]s or grammatically as subordinate [[conditional clause]]s.