Which term describes the correct method of joining two independent clauses with a comma and a coordinating conjunction?

• A. Coordinating conjunction
• B. Subordinating conjunction
• C. Comma splice
• D. Fragment

Answer: (A)

When you connect two independent clauses with a comma and a coordinating conjunction, you are forming a compound sentence. The word that names the part doing the connecting here is coordinating conjunction. The common coordinating conjunctions—for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so—link two equal ideas, and the comma before the conjunction signals the separation between the two complete thoughts. This is the correct way to join two independent clauses because each clause could stand alone, and the coordinating conjunction shows how the ideas relate.

Subordinating conjunction would join a dependent clause to an independent clause, not two independent ones. A comma splice is when two independent clauses are joined only by a comma, without a coordinating conjunction. A fragment is an incomplete sentence missing a main clause.