It is perfectly acceptable to start a sentence with And (also do the same with words like But or or). use And at the beginning of a sentence has been a practice for over a thousand years.
Whether a person should avoid using certain words at the beginning of a sentence is one of those bits of grammatical information tucked away in some corner of our brains, reminding us vaguely but persistently. that we may be doing something wrong. (The really careful gambler will point out that the opening line of this piece begins with one of those words, Whetherhas been declared inappropriate to begin a sentence.)
The mnemonic ‘FANBOYS’ (for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so) is a useful way to memorize conjunctions. But it is not a guide to non-starter words.
Many people are content with the trusted adage “don’t start sentences with ” And or But.” If you’re interested in finding out if this is a reasonable rule, it’s not tell people they’re wrong when they use certain words to start their sentences, you’re in luck, because there have been more bans on sentence start words than just And And But.
The Beginning of And/But in the Beginning
Firstly, is it ever wrong to start a sentence with And or But? No, it doesn’t have. We have been breaking this rule since the 9th century Old English Chronicles past the current date. Many Bible translations are filled with initials and And butt, and they can even be found in some of our more beloved—and regulatory—guidelines. The 1959 version of Strunk and White’s Elements of style Begin two sentences in a row with these forbidden words, and do so with a little sense of self.
But since writing is communication, clarity can only be a virtue. And while nothing can replace the value of writing, clarity is almost the same. —William Stronk Jr. & EB White, Elements of style1959
The Merriam-Webster dictionary of English usage start its entry on And with this statement: “Everyone agrees that starting a sentence with Andand nearly everyone admits to having been taught that this is wrong.” The entry notes that there has been speculation that the initials are and Discourage children from stringing together endless lists of clauses or sentences. While it makes sense to avoid a huge pile of independent clauses in one’s writing, it doesn’t seem like trying to change the way people naturally use language will solve the problem. This. There are times when it’s not a good idea to start a sentence with And or Butand there are times when it works fine.
Can you start a sentence with these words?
If you’re one of those people who like to avoid people who start their sentences with these words, and if you want to cut down on your sentence-starting choices even further, there’s already a huge amount of other words we’ve covered. previously said do not use in that position. Here is a small one:
Don’t start a sentence with However or a similarly unimportant word. —Jacob Cloyd Tressler, English in action1929
Don’t start a sentence with “also” or “similarly.” —George Hitchcock, Components of the lecture1908
Or never start a sentence, paragraph or chapter. —James Brown, American English Grammar System1826
Never begin a sentence—or a clause—with But also. —JMD Meiklejohn, The Art of Writing English1899
Teaching exclusion But, Therefore, And, because, at the beginning of a sentence. —Document of the School Board of the City of Boston1916
A sentence should not start with conjunctions and, for, or however…. —George Payn Quackenbos, An advanced rhetoric and composition course1854
FANBOYS (For, And, Nor, But, Or, Yet, So)
Some people may remember learning FANBOYS easily when studying coordinating conjunctions because, And, neither, But, or, Not yet, Therefore. And some instructors still use this as a means of explaining which words shouldn’t stand a chance at leading the parade. But it’s a bit ludicrous to insist that these words are never used to start a sentence, when thousands of years of English writing have shown that this is a good way to start.
If you’re going to create a silly-sounding acronym to list these words, list all the words that students have been told not to put at the beginning of sentences for over 200 years. We’ve created for you what looks like a web address: WWWFLASHYBONNBAN, which obviously stands for Whether, Good, Why, because, Similarly, And, Therefore, However, Not yet, But, or, neither, Currently, because, But also, However.
Categories: Usage Notes
Source: vothisaucamau.edu.vn
