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What are coordinating conjunctions?

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Conjunctions are joining words that link together parts of a sentence.

The three main coordinating conjunctions are:

  • and
  • but
  • or

They can be used to join together two clauses in a sentence. However, the clauses need to make sense on their own.

For example:

I had a terrible cold. I still went to work.

You can add the coordinating conjunction 鈥榖ut鈥 in between these causes so the sentence reads:

I had a terrible cold but I still went to school.

Remember though, you can often leave out the subject word in the second coordinating clause.

For example:

I had a terrible cold but still went to school.

In this example you can remove the word 'I' from the second coordinating clause.

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Watch: Coordinating conjunctions

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Activity 1

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Activity 2

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Teaching resources

Looking for a unique way to help your class learn their conjunctions? Laura Bubble is here to help get your class learning and moving in this video from our Super Movers series.

成人快手 Teach has thousands of free, curriculum-linked resources to help deliver lessons - all arranged by subject and age group.

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Use grammar, punctuation and spelling skills to explore jungles, caves and tombs on your mission!

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