Subordinating and coordinating conjunctions are important elements that join clauses to form complex, well-constructed sentences. Coordinating conjunctions like "and", "but", and "or" connect independent clauses, phrases, and words. Subordinating conjunctions like "after", "although", and "because" introduce dependent clauses and show the relationship between the dependent and independent clauses. Examples are provided to illustrate the proper uses of coordinating and subordinating conjunctions.