Monday, September 14, 1998
Your high school English teacher isn't here
Sep 14 1998 12:00 am
In what cases is it all right to begin a sentence with either and or but?
"And" is a conjunction.
But for the handsome semaritan, Becky might have perished.
My H.S. English teachers always told me this was a no-no, but I've run across the practice so many times by the best of writers, I no longer believe all that those teachers taught. There are times I begin sentences that way because I don't see another simpler way to write and it just sounds right. But I have no hard-and-fast rule. Help?
As my 11 year old daughter would say, "Newsflash!" Your high school English teachers are no longer looking over your shoulder. They are busy drumming "could of" out of other hapless youths. You're on your own now. You also have very good judgment (about style :-)). Enjoy your freedom. By all means punch up your writing with whatever devices work in context. But/and beginnings give your writing a less formal, more immediate flavor.
Example 1: Most lawyers would not begin a sentence with "but" or "and" in a Supreme Court brief, but they very well might in oral argument.
Example 2: I use contractions in Usenet posts, because I consider this a conversational forum. I never use contractions in business letters, because I think they demonstrate a lack of professionalism.
NB: Never become so intoxicated by this heady license that you begin a sentence with "but" or "and" in a letter to your high school English teacher.
jane
