Which term describes conjunctions that link words, phrases, and clauses such as and, or, not?

• A. Correlative conjunction
• B. Coordinating Conjunction
• C. Textual marking
• D. Question generation

Answer: (B)

Conjoining words, phrases, and clauses of equal weight in a sentence is the job of coordinating conjunctions. They connect items of the same type, whether it’s linking two words (bread and butter), two phrases (you can have tea or coffee), or two independent clauses to make a compound sentence (She wanted to stay home, but she went to work). A familiar group of these connectors is the set often memorized as FANBOYS: for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so.

The example mentions and and or, which clearly illustrate this role. While some grammars don’t include not as a coordinating conjunction, the important idea is that the term we’re after describes connectors that join elements of equal value, which is exactly what coordinating conjunctions do. Other options refer to different concepts—correlative conjunctions are paired words that work together (like both/and), and the other choices aren’t related to how sentences are joined.