FANBOYS

See also: fanboys

English

Etymology

Acronym of For, And, Nor, But, Or, Yet, So

Noun

FANBOYS pl (plural only)

1. (mnemonic) Acronym used to remember the coordinating conjunctions for, and, nor, but, or, yet, and so.
   • 2008 July 8, Mignon Fogarty, Grammar Girl's Quick and Dirty Tips for Better Writing, New York: Macmillan, →ISBN, →OL, page 80:

     The risk is greater with subordinating conjunctions (see “Starting a Sentence with Because”), but the FANBOYS are sometimes considered guilty by association: […]

   • 2009 September 24, Mel Friedman, Rena Grasso, Carol Hunter, Laura Meiselman, The Best Test Preparation for the PRAXIS II ParaPro Assessment 0755 and 1755, Piscataway: Research & Education Association, →ISBN, →OL, page 161:

     These FANBOYS help create compound sentences, and when they serve this role, a comma comes before their use.

   • 2011 November 24, Larry Beason, Mark Lester, A Commonsense Guide to Grammar and Usage, 6th edition, Macmillan, →ISBN, →OL, page 192:

     Avoid putting a comma immediately after any of the FANBOYS.

See also

• Category:English coordinating conjunctions