Coordination is the way to conjoin two related ideas with equal weight.

It is very important that the elements that are conjoined are parallel both in terms of grammatical form and syntactical function.

Consider the following example:

1. Both developed and less developed nations have their own problems.

In this example, the verbal words in the V3 form are used as qualifiers of the noun 'nations.'

In other words, a noun is coordinated with a noun, a verb with a verb, a clause with clause etc.

2. I lent my son and my daughter-in-law a sizable sum of money.

In this example two objects in the predicate of the sentence are conjoined.

That means the first element which is a subject has to be conjoined with another element which also functions as a subject. The elements in the predicate, of course, are under the same rule when conjoined in a sentence.

There are several ways to conjoined two clauses:

1. Coordinators: Coordinators are BOYFANS (BUT, OR, YET, FOR, AND,     NOR, and SO). 'But', 'or', and 'and' can be used to conjoin the elements     other than clauses, but not other coordinators. The use of coordinator     makes a sentence concise and easy to understand.
2. Punctuations: Punctuations that are used in coordinations are commas     and semicolons. The first is used to indicate 'series' whereas the second     is used when the writer wishes to avoid explicitly stating the relationship     of the two clauses.
3. Sentence adverbs: Sentence Adverbs are general in written language. They can introduce a sentence or conjoin two clauses. For examples,

1. The committee members agreed in principle about the idea to promote five-day work week. However, the labor union kept demanding the 20% pay rise.

2. The defendant pledged innocent; however, the jury found him guilty at all charges.

More Exercises