And, But
Charles Riggs
but? 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?
Charles
Andy Powney
<3600dd5e....@news.anu.ie>...
IMO: Your teacher was perfectly correct. However, English is a dynamic
language and, as the form is in such common use, it is wrong to say that it
is grammatically incorrect. Calling it a "no-no" is a nice way to put it.
Of course, there are very few people who abide by this rule and there are a
number of popular quotes using just this construct:
"And there was light", The Bible.
"And did those feet", Jerusalem.
To avoid this problem, you can remove the words altogether, or substitute
new ones:
e.g. "Blimey! There was light", The Bible (alt.english.usage revised
edition).
You'll find that most authors will use grammar in their own particular way.
This is usually one of the cornerstones of the authors style. Being
dexterous with grammar is just as useful as with vocabulary. Incidentally,
if you want to see proper (UK) English grammar, I'd recommend reading the
Court Circular. The letters and news from Buckingham Palace are sometimes a
delight to read. I've often wanted to type one into Word, perform a grammar
check, then post the results to Microsoft with a cover letter entitled,
"Bug report".
Anyway, one of my favourite examples of this form comes from the
ex-comedian, Bill Hicks: "Yeah? And? So? What?"
Pk2222
debunked the rule.
She insisted that, as personally distasteful as the practice of beginning a
sentence with a conjunction was, it is in fact, common, appropriate usage. This
was from a person with graduate degrees from the University of Chicago and who
contributes regularly to grammar standards published by the National Council of
Teachers of English.
I still can't force myself to do it.
pk
joy beeson
>In what cases is it all right to begin a sentence with either and or
>but? 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.
Beginning a sentence with a conjunction isn't wrong, it's emphatic,
and therefore easy to overdo. When faced with overdoing, the
teacherly response is to forbid it altogether -- which leads to
confused pupils thinking that the passive voice must never be used, or
that tabasco is a low-class seasoning.
Joy Beeson
mail to : j beeson at global two thousand dot net
janelaw
>
> 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?
>
> Charles
Charles,
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.
George F. Hardy
of "but". But there are exceptions. ;-)
GFH
Engkent
it, and I'm teaching them to write in more formal, academic English. The
same goes for sentence fragments, which are acceptable in informal writing.
It's really a question of what style you want.
Lucia
Charles Riggs wrote in message <3600dd5e....@news.anu.ie>...
>In what cases is it all right to begin a sentence with either and or
>but? My H.S. English teachers always told me this was a no-no, but
Charles Riggs
>Charles,
>
>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.
Thank you, Jane. All good advice I would say, especially that last
tidbit!
Charles
Bill McCray
>In what cases is it all right to begin a sentence with either and or
>but?
That would have been easier to parse if it had been
In what cases is it all right to begin a sentence with either "and" or
"but"?
In this case, the quotation marks say "I'm talking about the word here,
not the concept for which the word stands".
Bill McCray
Lexington, KY
Charles Riggs
Looking back at it, I see you are totally right. I was typing too
quickly I guess.
Charles