They can express different meanings such as addition, contrast or consequence.
Example
I wanted to go but she said no, and Tom just laughed.
In the classroom
Using conjunctions is problematic for learners because of how they connect with other words, for example ‘in spite of...' , ‘however..' and ‘although' mean the same thing but are used differently. Learners can be helped to use a wider range of conjunctions accurately by identifying and analysing examples in texts.