Do n’t reckon you shouldstart a sentence with thewords"and " or " but " ? Like many urban myths , the far-flung " rule " against using these three - letter of the alphabet word at the jump of a time probably start as a well - intended circumspection .
Whether it was plan to prevent scholar from creating disunited sentences , or was just a not - quite - right regulation overstep from coevals to propagation , the origin of this misplacedgrammatical ruleis lost to history .
What we do know is that , in blunt contrast to the advice of many high school day English teachers , it ’s really fine to start a sentence with " and " or " but " or any othercoordinating alignment . But ( see what we did there ? ) , that does n’t stand for the debate has n’t continued .
Aconjunctionis a useful part of voice communication that connects words , idiomatic expression , clauses or sentences ; it is a classification comprised of a brusk listing ofseven coordinating conjunctions :
Any of these coordinating conjunctions may be used to protrude a sentence . So why does it still feel so uncomfortable ? For starters ( yep , we did it again ) , coordinating conjunctive as sentence starters are — and should be — used sparingly and with purpose .
A judgment of conviction that begins with a coordinating colligation can efficaciously emphasize a connection between two time or between two concern thoughts . So when you have the opportunity toconnect sentences of equal condition , and want to add a break for vehemence , it ’s OK to start with a conjunction like " and " or " but . " For instance : you may change state in your homework by printing it at home and then handing it to the instructor at the beginning of course of study . Oryou can simply email it .
Beginning a conviction with a align conjunction also is useful when you need to connect a condemnation to a previous paragraph . For case , if the former paragraph ’s last sentence is " investigator have been unable to retrace the origins of the infestation to a specific patient . " Then the first sentence of the next paragraph could connect to this idea . For example : " Butwe do roll in the hay disease - carry rat were involved . "
In fiction , the exercise of a coordinating junction at the start of a conviction is a tool used to make a sentence " more forceful and urgent . " It also can bespeak an unexpected turn of events . count , for example , the use of " but " inthis passagefrom the 1931 variant of " The Waves " by Virginia Woolf :
The biggest danger , if there are grievous well-formed choices , is overutilisation . opt your moment wisely when take up sentences with a align alignment and it will in all likelihood work the fashion you intended it to : as an emphasis meant to make an impact on the reader .
