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Starting a sentence with a coordinating conjunction


Starting a sentence with a coordinating conjunction  

19 members have voted

  1. 1. Is it acceptable to start a sentence with a coordinating conjunction?

    • Yes
      13
    • No
      6


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30 minutes ago, Tanaqui said:

It depends. What's the context here?

The context is like what Jean said, meaning not casual conversation or text messages but more formal writing. When I was in school teachers taught that sentences should not start with coordinating conjunctions. Younger people may not have heard this from their teachers. What would you teach your children for their writing assignments?

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That it's always okay in informal speech, it's often okay in informal writing (especially dialog), and that while there are times when it can effectively be employed in formal rhetoric and/or writing those times are dwarfed by the number of times it's just not appropriate and that, furthermore, arguing with teachers/bosses/editors is not going to end well for them, so they should just avoid it.

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I was taught not to in elementary and high school. In college, I was taught that it should only be done rarely if at all, and then you should have a very good reason for doing so. Otherwise, best not to! (Another way to think of it is--be willing to accept the consequences if you decide that your stylistic choice is so important that it's worth breaking the rule!)

That's what I taught my kids :-).

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There is nothing grammatically incorrect about starting a sentence with a conjunction and most style guides accept it (Chicago, MLA). 

With inexperienced writers, a conjunction at the beginning of a sentence often signals a fragment. "Never use conjunctions to start a sentence" is simple and leads to fewer fragments; that is the main reason it is taught (and then almost everyone mistakenly remembers it as a rule of grammar). 

Some will say it is too informal for academic or professional writing, making it a matter of usage rather than grammar. But this style note rarely holds true across the board for all of the conjunctions; it is most often and or but that get the red pen. Even when a teacher or editor tells you to to never begin a sentence with a conjunction, those are the only two they reliably notice, with yet almost always getting a free pass even in the most formal of writing. 

 

 

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6 minutes ago, Patty Joanna said:

Now, here comes a major gripe:  One of my son's co-op teachers told the class that the semicolon was *always* an inappropriate punctuation mark.  

 

Wow, that would upset me too--don't mess with a kid's writing like that! Makes me wonder why she thought that mark existed?!

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I believe it is incorrect in academic writing, and in journalism.  I am surprised at how frequently it is used however, along with subordinating conjunctions  at the beginning of a fragment.

My child was not even taught correct terms for grammar in school, let alone correct usage. For example, in 6th grade the teacher taught the terms “complete though” and “incomplete thought” instead of independent and dependent clauses. 😑 Why? The correct terms are shorter, more precise, and well within the vocabulary of an 11 year old.  However, my point is that not knowing these terms also meant they did not distinguish between coordinating or subordinating conjunctions. 😣 She already knew the difference from 3rd grade Grammar Island at home, and I do correct written use of a coordinating conjunction at the beginning of a sentence. In speech I don’t bother.  I do require oral answers with dependent clauses to also have their independent clause partners (eg I won’t accept, “Because he was angry,” for an oral [or written] answer to a prompt in the the lesson).

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13 hours ago, Patty Joanna said:

I used to teach high school English and grammar, and then I taught my own kid at home.  One of the things I told them was they had to know the rules so they wouldn't break them from ignorance.  But when you know them, you can break them for effect. 

***

It's pretty much the same in any skill--you have to learn the rules--but once you have mastery of the rules, you can break them when it makes things better.  I can think of examples from sports to writing, to art, to music, to decorating.  I *can't* think of many in math or in strict grammar or the laws of physics, however.  :0)

 

I think this is a good explanation why opening a sentence with a coordinating conjunction is both incorrect and acceptable.

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On 12/18/2018 at 1:54 PM, Targhee said:

I believe it is incorrect in academic writing, and in journalism.   

 

Definitely not incorrect in journalism. I have written for two different newspapers and it was not a rule at either one. The Chicago Manual of Style and others accept it. 

Also not wrong across the board in academic writing. It is acceptable with MLA format, which is by far the most widely used in academics. 

In both cases, you may have individual editors or professors who do not like it or do not allow it. As I said in my other post, though, even those who prohibit it are usually only annoyed by and or but. They don't notice any of the others!  

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