Published on March 20, 2015 by Shane Bryson. Revised on March 27, 2017. This rule is a
provisional one, meant to help beginning writers to see the differences between oral and written communication. Whereas in speech we very often use conjunctions, especially “and” and “but,” in text a writer’s overuse of conjunctions at the
beginnings of sentences makes for repetitive and sloppy writing. To combat this stylistic problem, people who teach beginning writers sometimes ban the use of any coordinating conjunction at the beginning of a sentence. But such an all-out ban is misguided. In fact, plenty of good writers begin their sentences with coordinating conjunctions once in a while. Do note that it has become acceptable in popular and literary language, but is still deemed unacceptable in many
academic circles. Importantly, the decision to begin with a coordinating conjunction should be made with care (as with all decisions in writing), but since it can add desirable emphasis to a sentence, it should not be ruled out. And remember, even if this kind of overuse is annoying, it’s never the cause of a grammatical error. This article is part of
Writing myths: The reasons we get bad advice. If you want to cite this source, you can copy and paste the citation or click the “Cite this Scribbr article” button to automatically add the citation to our free Citation Generator. Bryson,
S. (2017, March 27). Myth: Don't start a sentence with a coordinating conjunction. Scribbr. Retrieved November 16, 2022, from https://www.scribbr.com/academic-writing/myth-dont-start-a-sentence-with-a-coordinating-conjunction/ Is this article helpful?You have already voted. Thanks :-) Your vote is saved :-) Processing your vote... Scribbr's professional editors can help! Learn more How many times have you searched for, or read, an article with a title similar to the one above? Probably quite a few, as the rules of grammar seem to be a subject of some debate these days. The most obvious answer to this question is, "Yes, of course you can begin a sentence with a conjunction." No one is stopping you, and the grammar police are not an actual organization. However, what you really want to know is whether or not it can be grammatically correct to begin a sentence with a coordinating conjunction, right? Should you begin a sentence this way, as opposed to can you, is a better question. The answer to this question is yes, it can be grammatically correct to do so, and an increasing number of writers are using this variation. The MLA's (Modern Language Association) online style center gives this explanation:
MLA is a pretty authoritative source for style and grammar, and their agreement with Oxford Dictionaries makes it an even stronger statement, so you can take that quote to the bank. Style versus grammarWhat do MLA and Oxford Dictionaries mean by a stylistic rule? How does this differ from rules of grammar? Try to think of grammar, and grammar rules, as a useful set of guidelines, which will help you to be successful in your efforts to write or speak. Whereas style is a way of writing that is unique to each writer, it's essentially a personal preference. As personal preferences have no bearing on whether or not a work is grammatical, you are technically good to go. Knowing that, why would you want to begin a sentence with a coordinating conjunction? Does it offer you any benefit in your writing? Why would you want to begin a sentence this way?Simply put, being able to use more words in more ways gives a writer additional options, and more tools in their arsenal of creative composition. If you don't think that more words at your disposal sounds particularly useful to you, just consider how often you grab your thesaurus when writing, or are tempted to use a non-English word when it sounds better in the piece that you are writing (for those polyglots among us). Let's face it, writers are constantly on the hunt for the perfect word or phrase to express not only the meaning, but the emotion and mood that is pertinent to a situation. One of the best reasons to use a coordinating conjunction at the beginning of a sentence is to clarify the feeling of the sentence. In her podcast, "Can I Start a Sentence with a Conjunction?" Mignon Fogarty quotes Neal Whitman in this example:
The example goes on to underscore the sense of surprise that the sentence carries when the second sentence begins with, "but." Effectively communicating the sensation of surprise may be important to this writer, and using the coordinating conjunction, "but," to begin the sentence is now another way that he or she can convey that feeling to the audience. Coordinating conjunctions as emotive toolsThe ability to successfully elicit a specific emotion in a reader or listener is an extremely useful tool in writing, and will help to give your work depth, memorability, and impact. In his piece, "Emotion vs. Feeling: How to Evoke More From Readers," David Corbett explains the importance of conveying emotion in writing:
In the quoted passage above, Corbett touches upon what may be considered the Holy Grail of writing; creating an emotionally satisfying experience for the reader/listener. Communication is the first goal of language, and certainly clear communication should be your most basic gauge of having written something worthwhile. That said, communicating involves more than just facts and figures; even in technical, non-fiction settings. Consider this phrase, which I recently wrote to describe the analysis of technical data obtained through scientific experimentation: Unlike the data obtained through mass spectrometry (mass spec) analysis, the data obtained via the scanning electron microscope (SEM) provided detailed- and surprising- information about how the fibers had adhered to the substrate in the sample. Now, this example does not begin with a coordinating conjunction, but hopefully it shows you how even a, "dry, technical subject," can be an emotionally engaging one if we, as writers, help it to be. This sentence communicates anticipation and surprise, which are two of the emotions that can be elicited when beginning a sentence with a coordinating conjunction. I could have written the passage like this, in two parts, with a coordinating conjunction beginning the second sentence, and achieved similar results: The data obtained through mass spectrometry analysis clearly showed evidence of four distinct elements present in the sample. But the data obtained from the scanning electron microscope showed how the elements in the fibers had adhered to the substrate sample. By using the word, "but," to begin the second sentence, I am effectively conveying the surprise of the first sample, without having to actually insert the word, "surprise," into the sentence. In this way, the coordinating conjunction is both a way to join the two statements, and a way to convey the sense of discovery that the second set of data evoked; it was unexpected. Two goals achieved by using one literary tool is pretty useful in my book. Here is a good example of poetic style being carried by means of coordinating conjunction, in the last stanza of Robert Frost's poem, "Stopping by the Woods on a Snowy Evening:"
Notice that three out of four phrases in this stanza begin with a coordinating conjunction? While these phrases are not true sentences (notice the commas between them), they are semi-complete thoughts, which serve to convey both the feelings and experiences of the author. Without these conjunctions, Frost's final stanza might well lose that drifting, lulling quality for which it is so well known. Poetry often has a bit more stylistic license than other types of writing, but the sentiments that one feels reading this piece are partly due to Frost's use of coordinating conjunctions as origination words in this stanza, and that is a lesson that can be applied to any form of writing. Words of cautionNow that you know how and why you could use a coordinating conjunction to begin a sentence, a few words of caution before you dive into the, "buts," "ands," and, "ors:"
The three cautions above are not meant to dissuade you, but rather to serve as a guide to those who are just dipping their toe into traditionally taboo uses of coordinating conjunctions. As long as you adhere to grammatical rules regarding ambiguity, and avoid the fairly elementary mistake of run-on sentences, you should be able to safely work with coordinating conjunctions in a broader fashion; including to originate sentences. Can you start a sentence with a conjunction fanboys?Perhaps your teacher taught you that you should never start a sentence with the FANBOYS. But the truth is, you can.
What words can you not start a sentence with?Never begin a sentence—or a clause—with also. Teach the elimination of but, so, and, because, at the beginning of a sentence. A sentence should not commence with the conjunctions and, for, or however....
What is it called when a sentence starts with a conjunction?Despite what you may have been told at school, you can start a sentence with "and" or "but." ("And" and "but" are known as coordinating conjunction.
What are the rules for coordinating conjunctions?Coordinating conjunctions always go between the words or phrases that they are connecting.. Put a comma before the coordinating conjunction when it is used to connect two independent clauses. ... . When using a coordinating conjunction to connect two items, do not use a comma.. |