Starting a sentence with “and”, “but”, or “why” is often considered unacceptable by grammarians as it creates a sentence fragment. However, in some cases, it can add style and meaning. It’s acceptable in informal writing but should be avoided in formal situations unless used in dialogue.
While it’s never advisable to use the word “never” when it comes to English grammar rules, many grammarians still find it unacceptable to start a sentence with and, but, or why. According to them, doing so creates a sentence fragment, not a complete sentence. “And”, “but” and “because” are mainly used to join two independent sentences and create a relationship between them.
If you start a sentence with e, for example, it can be argued that you are actually creating half of a more complex sentence. And people who are strict grammarians may argue. Proper use of “and” requires a conjunction of two separate ideas that are roughly equal in importance: “The coffee is in the pantry AND the eggs are in the refrigerator.” There is an equal relationship between coffee and eggs, and the conjunction and establishes it. If you start a sentence with E, you are weakening that sentence unnecessarily.
The same grammar rules apply when you start a sentence with Ma, but many people seem to feel more comfortable breaking with tradition here. The relationship between two contrary or opposite sentences could be established with the conjunction ma: “I wanted to see a movie, BUT my wife wanted to read a book”. The word “but” shouldn’t be used to start a sentence, because the relationship hasn’t been established yet. But some people consider this rule a bit archaic.
There are, in fact, many examples in both literature and formal professional writing where both And and But are used at the beginning of sentences. In many of these cases, the way these subjunctive words are used can add style and specific nuances of meaning to the sentence. While not all grammar experts agree that And and But shouldn’t be used at the beginning of a sentence, you may run into resistance if you choose to use them that way.
It is perfectly acceptable to start some sentences with Why, as long as the sentence contains a cause and effect relationship: “Because the principal will not be in the building, the meeting has been postponed.” This is a correct sentence, because a definite cause and effect is implied. Some writers, however, may choose to use “Because” at the start of a sentence with no such relationship. Why would they do it? Because it works under the right circumstances.
When it comes to informal writing, it would be impossible to say that a writer can’t start a sentence with and, but, or why. As long as the message as a whole has been effectively communicated to the reader, the occasional fragment of a sentence that comes across as a complete thought shouldn’t be completely discouraged. In more formal writing situations, however, a writer should rarely, if ever, start a sentence with and, but, or why unless used to recreate authentic dialogue from a quoted character. Otherwise, it’s largely considered a sloppy practice among professional writers.
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