A coordinating conjunction is a type of conjunction that connects two or more elements of the same grammatical type, such as words, phrases, or clauses, that are equal to each other in importance. The word "coordinating" refers to the fact that these conjunctions bring things together on the same level, as opposed to subordinating conjunctions, which join elements of unequal grammatical standing. There are seven coordinating conjunctions in English: for, and, nor, but, or, yet, and so, which can be remembered using the acronym FANBOYS. These conjunctions are used to create compound sentences by linking independent clauses. When a coordinating conjunction joins two independent clauses, a comma is used before the conjunction, unless the clauses are very short. Coordinating conjunctions can also be used to connect other parts of speech, such as nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, prepositional phrases, and noun phrases.