Don't Start Sentences with And or But-Liz BroseThis is a featured page


The following is my interpretation of the style rule regarding beginning sentences with the coordinating conjunctions and or but.

Starting sentences with and or but is a style of writing that bothers me because I was taught that it was not an acceptable way to start a sentence. I know there are people that think that it is an acceptable way of writing. However, I am not one of those people. The use of 'however' at the beginning of this sentence makes the paragraph seem awkward. I would combine the two sentences. KB It is not acceptable to start a sentence with and or but.

Sentences starting with the coordinating conjunctions and or but:
  • Mary went to the mall to buy a shirt. But she did not find one.
  • And she was upset that she did not find a shirt.
  • But she will try again tomorrow.

The sentences above can be corrected by simply deleting the and or but and beginning the sentence with the next word. In the first example above, a comma can also replace the period to form one sentence instead of two. Good examples, and good point about just 'deleting the and or but'. KB

Corrections
  • Mary went to the mall to buy a shirt, but she did not find one.
  • She was upset that she did not find a shirt.
  • She will try again tomorrow.
Why this rule?

In order to fully understand the rule we have to go back in time to a place where we learned about the words that we use when we write and speak. The words were probably referred to then as the parts of speech. That is sufficient for what will be discussed in this essay. As readers and writers we know that there are different words that do different jobs in our language. It is necessary for writers and readers to know what those words do in order to write clearly and to fully understand what we read. The words and & but are coordinating conjunctions. These are words that are meant to connect words or phrases of a sentence. The word connect in the preceding definition is the important word. They are connecting words. This means that they connect thoughts and tie the parts of the sentence together. This definition of what the words do in a sentence supports the idea that the words and & but are not connecting anything when they start a sentence. Really good explanation. KB

This idea is discussed in Joseph M. Williams’, Style Toward Clarity and Grace, and The Elements of Style by William Strunk Jr. and E.B. White. Williams discusses this writing issue in Chapter 10 of Style Toward Clarity and Grace. The rule is not discussed in detail like many of the others in the rest of the text. Williams makes the statement that sentences should not be started with and or but (182). However, when Williams continues the short discussion of the rule he refers to Gowers, and his thoughts on the rule. Sir Ernest Gowers was the editor of the second edition of A Dictionary of Modern English Usage (Williams 179). This book is apparently the grammar bible to those that are deeply interested in standard prescriptive grammar. Williams quotes Gowers in his explanation of his rule. “As I said earlier, Gowers called this rule a ‘faintly lingering superstition.’ Just about any highly regarded writer of nonfictional prose begins sentences with and or but, some more than once a page” (182).(Is this all one quote? It is unclear if it stops at 'superstition' or at 'page' R.M) This interpretation of the rule still did not seem to be complete. When does a rule become an actual rule and not a suggestion? The rule in the Williams book looked like a suggestion due to the fact that well known writers begin their sentences with and & but. (I started to get a little confused after the quotes to here, maybe the last two sentences would be a good start for the next paragraph? R.M.) This definitely gets confusing with all of the citations, etc. Split this into two paragraphs I think. KB

This leads writers to look further into style to see if there are any other ways that this rule can become a more concrete rule and not a suggestion by a few authors of style guides. (a minor suggestion: I would start the new paragraph here and let the previous sentence be the last one of the previous paragraph. It seems to belong there, while the next sentence seems to more clearly introduce this paragraph. B.Keough)The Elements of Style assist in making this rule a stronger one and not so much of a suggestion. A main and underlying point throughout the Strunk and White text is to keep writing simple. They did this when they published The Elements of Style. The book is only104 pages including the index. The authors were focused when writing their style guide. White makes this claim in the introduction of the book. “It concentrates on the fundamentals: the rules of usage and principles of composition most widely violated” (White xiv). The Elements of Style is a book based on the main issues with writing. Keeping this in mind, the authors are very clear when they state rule 17 in the Principles of Composition chapter of their book. The rule states: “Omit needless words” (23). Keeping this hingconcrete Typo? KB rule in mind when we reexamine Hyphenated? KB the and & but rule, the and/but in the sentence is a needless word. It does not coordinate or connect anything at the beginning of a sentence. Not only is it not doing the job that it wants to do, it is a needless word as was explained in the rule. The words can simply be “omitted” (23) and the sentences are perfectly grammatical without them.

Strunk and White contribute to this process even more with their simple and straightforward rules about comma usage. In The Elements of Style, the first section of the book is titled, Elementary Rules of Usage. The word elementary implies that the rules in this section are very important and that everyone should know the rules. The rule: Don’t start a sentence with and or but, is supported by rule 4 in the Elementary Rules of Usage chapter in the book. The rule states: “Place a comma before a conjunction introducing an independent clause” (5).

Works Cited

White, E.B. and William Strunk. The Elements of Style. New York: Longman, 2000.

Williams, Joseph. Style: Toward Clarity and Grace. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1995



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jessicabrin Williams and others who disagree 0 Feb 18 2009, 4:08 PM EST by jessicabrin
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Williams obviously seems to think this is a non-essential and that beginning sentences with "and" or "but" is not a big deal. Do you think the rule applies differently to different writing situations? If certain types of writers (Williams suggests nonfictional prose writers) don't follow this rule, do you think it is a more specific rule rather than a general one? I know that many newspaper and journalism style guides say it is ok to begin sentences with coordinating conjunctions, but this clearly falls under the nonfictional prose category. I'm mostly curious about this issue and think your piece would be stronger if you addressed it. If you can come up with a concrete argument about why coordinating conjunctions should never be used to begin sentences beyond the ones you present, or in response to specific instances your rule is often broken, it would be more convincing to me.

You have a really good concept here, and I definitely think that it is a rule many people don't understand or need more explanation on in general. Keep up the good work!
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carestep nice paper 0 Feb 18 2009, 1:11 PM EST by carestep
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I love the examples that you gave at the beginning of the paper. I also like how you used outside sources.
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KyleBegley Edits 0 Feb 17 2009, 4:32 PM EST by KyleBegley
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I did my edits in blue. The two towards the end I wasn't sure about.

Thanks for the help on mine, with the citations! I have so much trouble with that stuff.
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