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No, you won't find Apple and Microsoft fans duking it out here, nor will you find geeky Star Trek/Star Trek conventioneers, just a simple mnemonic to help you remember those pesky coordinating conjunctions that seem to trip up unassuming Academic Writing students, especially those forced to use American-style punctuation.
A coordinating conjunction is a linking word that connects two independent clauses to form a compound or complex sentence (as long as the complex sentence includes two independent clauses).
An independent clause is simply a part of a sentence that could stand on its own: Subject + Verb (+ optional Direct Object).
In American usage, when one links two independent clauses with a coordinating conjunction, one must separate them with a comma.F = For
A = And
N = Nor
B = But
O = Or
Y = Yet
S = So
In British usage, one does not need a comma (although this confirmed American cringes when that comma is missing).
In American usage, when there is no coordinating conjunction, one must link two independent clauses with a semi-colon; otherwise, it's a comma splice and an error.
HOWEVER, in British usage, comma splices are COOL and correct. ARGH! What's an American English teacher to do? (Begin reciting the Serenity Prayer here).
In both American and British usage, fused sentences are never acceptable. A fused sentence is simply two independent clauses running together without a coordinating conjunction or punctuation to separate the two clauses.
So. let's look at a few examples:
Acceptable British UsageGreat Britain and the United States are two countries divided by a common language but I believe that we have more in common than one might think.Acceptable American UsageGreat Britain and the United States are two countries divided by a common language, but I believe that we have more in common than one might think.Acceptable British UsageGreat Britain and the United States are two countries divided by a common language, however, I believe that we have more in common than one might think.Acceptable American UsageGreat Britain and the United States are two countries divided by a common language; however, I believe that we have more in common than one might think.Unacceptable in both Great Britain and the U.S.Great Britain and the United States are two countries divided by a common language I believe that we have more in common than one might think.
Fanboys Movie Trailer (2009)
Enjoy the adventures of For, And, Nor, But, Or, Yet, So...
FANBOYS!
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