We explain what coordinating conjunctions are in grammar, the characteristics of each type and multiple examples in sentences.
What are coordinating conjunctions?
In grammar, is known as conjunctions to the type of words that serve as a link between propositions, phrases or words, that is, the conjunctions link prayers or parts of speech, contributing cohesion to the language. These are words endowed with a grammatical meaning, that is, they lack their own meaning, and fulfill a relational, syntactic role within the sentence.
Conjunctions are a very common type of word, present in all Languages. Their role is fundamental for a speech ordered and cohesive, and can be classified, generally, into two large groups:
- Coordinating or proper conjunctions, which link grammatical units, leaving them at the same syntactic level, that is, without hierarchizing them and without altering the joint meaning.
- Subordinate or improper conjunctions, which link grammatical units that are not interchangeable with each other, since one (subordinate) has greater hierarchy than the other (subordinate).
Thus, coordinating conjunctions, also called coordinative, construct phrases or sentences in which a global meaning remains unchanged, regardless of which element comes before and which after. Some examples of this type of conjunctions in Spanish are: Y, and, or, neither, or, I mean, good, Yes OK, more, but, even if, among other.
Types of coordinating conjunctions
Coordinating conjunctions can be of different types, depending on the type of relationship they propose between the linked terms. Thus, we talk about:
- Copulative coordinating conjunctions. They are those that link elements through an accumulation of terms, either in a positive sense (addition) or negative (subtraction), depending on their own meaning. For example, when using “and”, we are adding to the sentence an element with a positive sense, as in “I brought the potatoes and the onions” (or, what is the same, “I brought the onions and the potatoes”); while by using “nor”, we are adding an element with a negative sense, as in “I did not get potatoes or onions” (or, what is the same, “I did not get onions or potatoes”). Another such conjunction is "e".
- Disjunctive coordinating conjunctions. They are those that link elements through a relationship of mutual exclusion, that is, posing a case in which the two things cannot occur at the same time, but we must opt for one. For example, the nexus "or" in "Do you want to go to the movies or go for a walk?" ("Do you want to go for a walk or go to the movies?"); or the link "or" in "We can buy a car or a motorcycle, or save that money." Another such conjunction is "u".
- Adverse coordinating conjunctions. They are those that, when linking the syntactic elements, also oppose them, that is, they pose a contradictory relationship between the two. For example, the link “but” in “I want to see you, but I have to work”; or the “but” nexus in “They don't offer me solutions but more inconveniences”. Other conjunctions of this type are: "more", "although", "nevertheless", "nevertheless", "if well" or "on the contrary".
- Distributive coordinating conjunctions. They are those that link elements by distributing them in the sentence, that is, by distributing them in some way. They are not links in a strict sense, since they actually fulfill a semantic role within the sentence and operate through the juxtaposition of the elements. For example, the case of "be" in "I'm going to love the baby, be it female or male"; or the case of "now" in "Anyway we will go to London, now by train, now by boat, now by air." Other conjunctions of this type are: "si", "ora" or "even", always repeated within the sentence.
- Explanatory coordinating conjunctions. They are those that link elements that express the same meaning, but in a different way, in order to better explain what has been said. They generally appear isolated between commas or pauses of some kind. For example, the case of “that is” in “We will buy shares of the company, that is, we will invest”; or the case of "rather" in "My cousin is Italian, or rather, Milanese." Other conjunctions of this type are: "that is", "this is", "I mean".