Co-ordinating conjunctions

Co-odinating conjunctions link elements of the same level. These elements can be two main clauses or two subordinate clauses. Co-ordinating conjunctions do not affect word order. In other words, the sentence structure in both clauses is the same.

In alphabetical order the most common co-ordinating conjunctions of Dutch are (click on the conjunction to read more about it):

The overall  group of co-ordinating conjunctions is quite small, but four of them occur particularly frequently: en, of, maar and want. Of these, en and of regularly link other elements than clauses:

Alan en Karin gaan samen naar de fitness. (two nouns)
Alan and Karin are going to the gym together.

Voor dit recept moet je de paprika’s eerst roosteren of bakken. (two adjectives)
For this recipe you must first roast or fry the peppers.

De docent was streng maar rechtvaardig. (two adjectives)
The teacher was firm but fair.