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I am getting confused with this little word, and I would be very grateful to know more:

I am looking on many grammar sites, and they all include and in their list of coordinating conjunctions. So that is clear. I cannot find it in the list of subordinating conjunctions, but I just want to make sure

Can "and" ever be a subordinating conjunction?

In a sentence like

Let us wait, and she will do what we want.

am I right that "and" is a coordinating conjunction uniting two independent clauses?

Edit 1: I underline that my query concerns the particular use of the conjunction "and" in a sentence with conditional meaning, and not coordinating and subordinating conjunctions in general.

Edit 2: I had no doubt that "and" can connect any kind of phrases or clauses (be they subordinate or independent), as long as they are of the same kind. My confusion began when a native speaker claimed that "and" can link an independent clause with a subordinate one.

I would appreciate any insight on this.

fev
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1 Answers1

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In the part called "The uses of coordinators" in CGEL can be found the subpart "*The uses of 'and'". In this subpart the number "13.25, in which use "(e)" is treated, provides the explanation of this sentence.

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We can say therefore that "and" has the value of a conjunction, but it is still considered a coordinator. So, your logical mind is correct.

LPH
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  • So, although it is called "conditional use of and" (which would make one think that we are speaking of an independent clause and a subordinate one, syntactically "and" remains a coordinator, connecting 2 independent clauses. Did I get it right? – fev Dec 11 '20 at 20:10
  • @fev Analysis of the sentence remains what it is usually (two independent clauses); however, we can make precise some features of this particular type of coordination, for instance, the order of the conjuncts is fixed, the first sentence has the value of a conditional clause. – LPH Dec 11 '20 at 20:15
  • At last! I knew it! Thank you for the research! – fev Dec 11 '20 at 20:17
  • @fev You knew what? That "and" is a coordinator was never in doubt. I can scarcely believe the number of comments to deal with a very basic question. – BillJ Dec 12 '20 at 09:23
  • @BillJ: I had a contradictory discussion about this with someone who is a native I believe. I learnt new things in that discussion but my logical non-native mind could not understand all the aspects of this problem. For me it was clear that syntactically we had 2 independent clauses there, but not for him. – fev Dec 12 '20 at 09:29
  • @fev Well, tell him he is wrong! There is no problem. "And" is a coordinator -- end of discussion. – BillJ Dec 12 '20 at 09:32
  • @BillJ: Believe me, I tried. – fev Dec 12 '20 at 09:32
  • @fev That's your problem, not ours. link – BillJ Dec 12 '20 at 09:36
  • @BillJ: "Ours"? One last question: in this sentence then Let us wait and she will do what we want., does and connect 2 independent clauses? – fev Dec 12 '20 at 09:46
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    @fev Yes, but "and" doesn't only link independent clauses; it can also link dependent clauses and various phrases. – BillJ Dec 12 '20 at 09:55
  • That's what I really wanted to know. They were telling me that we do not have independent clauses in this sentence, but a main clause and a subordinate one. I just couldn't understand. Now, it is clear. I will soon delete the whole question. It is not my intention to irritate – fev Dec 12 '20 at 11:07
  • @fev Your possible irritation of one user is no reason for considering your interaction irritating. There are almost 20 comments to your question and many user took the pain to try to provide information. You do not irritate them. – LPH Dec 12 '20 at 11:14
  • They told you wrong. "Let us wait", and "she will do what we want" are both independent clauses, an imperative clause and a declarative content clause. – BillJ Dec 12 '20 at 14:44
  • @LPH: For your word, and for the effort you put into this, I will not delete the question. I will leave the decision to the moderators. – fev Dec 12 '20 at 20:39