~ QUESTION ~

[Sordid-1]

Is it still considered bad form to start a sentence with a conjunction? Because I do that a lot. And don't even feel guilty about it.

[amykhar]

Not according to Strunk and White it's not. And I am damn glad of that fact.

Amy

[mjfrombuffalo[$]]

But I think it can sound awkward. Or something. And my husband grade papers down if they use sentences that start with conjunctions. But he's mean.

[Redlass]

No, no, no! Do start sentences with conjunctions when it is stylistically appropriate.

And can we start a campaign to let those who teach English pass that on? I can't tell you how many arguments I get in with people I'm editing because they think it is wrong to do so.

Here are what my grammar experts say (I keep them locked up on my shelf and ungag them as needed):

Bremner:

And now we come to the nonsense that one shouldn't begin a sentence with and. And why shouldn't one? But don't overdo it.

Roy Copperud writes:

There is no reason why sentences should not begin with and, six authorities agree. And when this is done, and should not be followed by a comma unless it is the first of a pair of commas setting off a parenthetical phrase following. Nor should a comma follow the conjunction that begins a clause....These principles apply to but, or, so and other conjunctions as well.

And then our dear British Fowler writes:

And beginning a sentence. That it is a solecism to begin a sentence with and is a faintly lingering supersition. The OED gives examples ranging from the 10th to 19th century; the Bible is full of them.

I challenge anyone to find a credible reference that says it is wrong to start a sentence with a conjunction.

Yes, there are times when it doesn't work. But that doesn't mean that all uses of it are wrong.

[Redlass]

Oh, just to be proper:

Bremner, John, Words on Words: A Dictionary for Writers and Others who Care About Words, New York: Columbia University Press, 1980.

Copperud, Roy H., American Usage and Style: The Consensus, New York: Van Nostrand Publishers, 1980.

Fowler, H.W. Fowler's Modern English Usage, Second Edition, Oxford: Oxford Univesity Press, 1965.

[Grouch]

I'll never forget the look on my 8th grade English teacher's face (Debbie Schlinger, God bless her, one of the earliest cheerleaders of my writing) when I handed her an essay assignment which was a bit more...creative than usual.

"You started several sentences with 'And' and 'But,'" she scolded.

"But--but--" I sputtered, "Real writers like Stephen King and Erich Segal* do things like that all the time. I figure if they can break some rules, then so can I."

"Yes, but this is school writing; theirs is professional creative writing."

To which I replied ever-so-politely: "Writing is writing."

To which she had no reply.











*Yes, this is carbon-dating me, but they were two of the popular authors I was reading at the time.

[hypotenuse]

And it's also why most school assigned papers are boring. They don't have to be.

You oughta read one of my SARs.

:snicker:

[Sordid-1]

I am relieved. There are many times the flow of a piece seems enhanced by sentences like that, it adds a sort of choppiness that breaks monotony.

Now if I could just get the experts to encourage sentences ending with prepositions, the total annihilation of semi-colons, and the allowance of punctuation marks intermittently injected wherever I damn well please, I'd be a grammar whiz!

Can anyone link me up to a handy-dandy online grammar guide? Something like that could really aid me in tricking readers into believing I am something other than an uneducated buffoon.

[hypotenuse]

Here.

You're looking for Elements of Style.

[Sordid-1]

No, I have style, Lynne. I just need grammar.

[hypotenuse]

[sleeper54]

Originally posted by Sordid-1

--snip--

Can anyone link me up to a handy-dandy online grammar guide? Something like that could really aid me in tricking readers into believing I am something other than an uneducated buffoon.

Why would you want to mislead your readers...:-?

Odd, very odd...:-)


...tom...

[Sordid-1]

sleeps:
Why would you want to mislead your readers...:-?

Because it's fun, man. You should try it! Say something cryptic once in awhile, just answer a straightforward question with all manner of mumbo jumbo gobbledygook. Leave 'em wanting more!

[Redlass]

If I weren't so tired, I'd ungag the experts on my shelf again to let them tell you that you can correctly and grammatically end sentences in prepositions in English. Try it in Latin, and you're out of luck.

The semi-colons and other stuff I can't help you with.

[sleeper54]

Originally posted by Sordid-1


Because it's fun, man. You should try it! Say something cryptic once in awhile, just answer a straightforward question with all manner of mumbo jumbo gobbledygook. Leave 'em wanting more!

LOL

the Northeast, moving against Borisov which was Sounds like the old college 'smoking den' gag new information is found at each step: Outward, new vistas...:-)


...tom...

[Sordid-1]

sleeps:
the Northeast, moving against Borisov which was Sounds like the old college 'smoking den' gag new information is found at each step: Outward, new vistas...:-)

That was deep! I want to party with you, cowboy!

[lyagushka]

A preposition is a fine word to end a sentence with. And it's okay to begin a sentence with a conjunction. You ought to let the charms of the semi-colon work their way with you; they often come in handy.

Something tells me you'd enjoy this meat space guide:

The New Well Tempered Sentence: A Punctuation Handbook for the Innocent, the Eager, and the Doomed, by Karen Elizabeth Gordon

In cyberspace, I like:

http://www.bartleby.com/64/

(Though I would prefer not to have to use it. )