and

The word “and” is a conjunction that joins words, phrases, and clauses together. It’s the most common of the seven coordinating conjunctions. Use “and” for these reasons:

to join words: nouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs
to join phrases, especially prepositional phrases
to join clauses

and

a. Use "and" to join words.

The conjunction “and” allows you to put nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, prepositions together.

Maria and Eli are married. (two nouns)
The children laughed and played outside. (two verbs)
Ralph likes to eat food that’s hot and spicy. (two adjectives)
Slowly and quietly, the boy walked into the room. (two adverbs)

When two words are joined by “and,” we refer to the combination as compound: compound subjects, compound verbs, compound adjectives, etc.

Animals and insects are vital parts of an ecosystem. (compound subject)
We love and cherish our children. (compound verb)
After a long walk, my feet are tired and achy. (compound adjective)

Sheila and Angie

Sheila and Angie work together.
Sheila works and lives in the city.
Angie works from home and goes to the office two days a week.

Bees gather pollen quickly and efficiently.
They are hard-working and necessary little creatures.

b. Use "and" to join phrases.

Phrases are two or more words that go together to express an idea. Prepositional phrases, noun phrases, adjective phrases, and adverb phrases are often joined by “and.”

The business is open during the day and at night. (prepositional phrases)
The girl in the red dress and the boy with a hat are brother and sister.
The sound of gently falling rain and the smell of spring flowers came through the open window.

This car has a new set of snow tires and a well-tuned engine.

This young teacher is full of energy and ready to help his students.

c. Use "and" to join clauses and sentences.

Compound sentences are made from two independent clauses. The conjunction, “and” goes between the clauses. A comma goes before “and.”

The sun is shining, and the birds are singing.
The strawberries are ready to harvest, and they are very sweet!
Teresa works during the day, and she goes to school at night.
Tom goes to sleep early in the evening, and he wakes up early in the morning.
I called a friend of mine, and we made plans for lunch.

Notice that each clause contains a subject and a verb.