In academic settings, even from a young age, we’re taught to convey clear, concise ideas. Why was everyone taught this rule about “And”?īeginning a sentence with a conjunction isn’t really a grammar mistake-in fact, we’ve been doing it in our speech for over a thousand years! So why have English teachers drummed it into the heads of impressionable youths since time immemorial? This quick and easy trick makes the sentences feel more natural and rhythmic on the page. Nothing about these sentences has changed, except that the reader is given a little more breathing room. “I went ice skating last night,” she said. “I walked to school this morning.” He pulled off his jacket and hung it up by the door. In fiction writing, this will often be a dialogue tag or an action tag. You can solve this by using a buffer in between the two sentences. You may notice that in these examples, the complete sentences can still feel a little choppy-even though they’re grammatically correct. In this case it’s better to use the word “and” as a conjunction to bridge the two clauses together.Ĭritically-acclaimed author William Ryan guides you through a workshop-based introduction to the essential elements of storytelling and writing fiction.īrowse our full class catalog The secret trick to starting a sentence with “And” ![]() The second half is a sentence fragment it feels incomplete, like it’s lacking an essential piece. And I fell flat on my face!”īoth of these are independent clauses, or sentences that are complete by themselves. To check if your sentence is grammatically correct, try taking the “And” away and see if it still reads like a complete sentence. However, there are times when you shouldn’t begin a sentence with “And” in your writing-watch out for incomplete sentence fragments that can’t stand on their own. Nearly everybody starts sentences with “And” in their day-to-day lives, so writing sentences in this way can make your dialogue feel more realistic. So is it ever okay to begin sentences with conjunctions like “And”? Yes! It is perfectly acceptable to start a sentence with “And,” especially in less formal writing. Even if you’re not sure why, it feels off when you’re reading it. And I met a friend along the way.”-it can look a bit awkward and disjointed. For example, “I missed the bus to school, so I was late.” Or, “I missed the bus to school, but I made it on time anyway.”Īn example using the coordinating conjunction “And” might be, “I walked to school this morning, and I met a friend along the way.” If you break this into two sentences-“I walked to school this morning. They’re usually used to expand on an idea. What is a coordinating conjunction in writing?Ī coordinating conjunction is a word that join two sentences, phrases, or sentence fragments together. The main reason reason we’ve learned not to start a sentence with “And” is because a coordinating conjunction usually comes right in the middle of a sentence. ![]() ![]() There are seven coordinating conjunctions in the English language: ![]() What’s the big deal about starting with “And”?įirst of all, why do we have this rule in the first place? Well, bridge-type words like “and” or “but” are known as coordinating conjunctions. Let’s take a deeper look at when it’s okay to begin sentences with “And” in your own writing and when to try starting sentences in a different way. So what gives?Īs with all “rules” of writing, there are myths and truths to this idea. You may have heard from a well-meaning high school English teacher the rule that says you should never start a sentence with “And” or “But.” But maybe you’ve seen other writers doing it, even in published novels.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |