Starting a sentence with "And"....the rules?

[SlightlyMadSweet]

DTDs have abviously been paying attention in class as they are adamant that you shouldn't start a sentemce with "And". Fair point.

BUT, reading a Roald Dahl book and he has made the "And" at the beginning of a sentence crime....is it ever acceptable (unless you are Roald Dahl!!!), what are the rules? How do I explain it to DTDs.

They are going to go back to school after easter and tell Miss "Roald Dahl was naughty...."...

Not sure what the rules are for this one, but I seem to remember from my A' level English (many, many moons ago) that it is acceptable in some cases. Not very useful - sorry.

I don't think it's wrong, more bad style for certain things. E.g. if youare listing things there is a better way to put it then I bought X. And X. And X etc. etc. Or I went to X. And I did X. But it can be used for emphasis, because we don;t expect a sentence to begin with 'And'. Does that make sense?

Yes you can start a sentence with 'and'. And you can start one with 'but'. But old-fashioned grammarians insist that you can't.

And rules are there to be broken ...

here

you begin a sentence with "and" or "but" (or one of the other coordinating conjunctions)? The short answer is "no." You should avoid beginning a sentence with "and," "or," "but," or the other coordinating conjunctions. These words generally are used to join together parts of a sentence, not to begin a new sentence. However, such sentences can be used effectively. Because sentences beginning with these words stand out, they are sometimes used for emphasis. If you use sentences beginning with one of the coordinating conjunctions, you should use these sentences sparingly and carefully.

oops

Should you begin a sentence with "and" or "but" (or one of the other coordinating conjunctions)?

The short answer is "no." You should avoid beginning a sentence with "and," "or," "but," or the other coordinating conjunctions. These words generally are used to join together parts of a sentence, not to begin a new sentence.

However, such sentences can be used effectively. Because sentences beginning with these words stand out, they are sometimes used for emphasis. If you use sentences beginning with one of the coordinating conjunctions, you should use these sentences sparingly and carefully.

From; "The English Language: A users GUide" By Jack Lynch

Contrary to what your high school English teacher told you, there's no reason not to begin a sentence with but or and; in fact, these words often make a sentence more forceful and graceful. They are almost always better than beginning with however or additionally. Beginning with but or and does make your writing less formal; ? but worse things could happen to most writing than becoming less formal.

Note, though, that if you open with but or and, you usually don't need a comma: not "But, we did it anyway"; it's enough to say "But we did it anyway." The only time you need a comma after a sentence-opening conjunction is when you want to sneak a clause right between the conjunction and the rest of the sentence: "But, as you know, we did it anyway." [Revised January 2008.]

Yes, I believe it is officially grammatically 'wrong' but people do use it for emphasis, to make another related point after an already-too-long sentence. The same is true for starting sentences with 'But...'.

It is seen as a rule that can be broken by journalists, authors, etc., for style reasons, because they know the rule and are doing it on purpose, not because they are ignorant, IYSWIM. (How decadent!)

I try and avoid using However at the beginning of a sentence as well, but I don't think it's wrong, just bad stylistically.

errrmmmmm right.....I thin kiI got that...not good to start with "and, but not the crime fo the century and explaining it to DTDs should prove interesting....

Of course you can. It's not wrong, it's a question of style. I think starting a sentence with a conjunction is a good stylistic tool.

Officially it's wrong but, like in music, the most skilled exponents know how to break the rules for artistic effect.

It's hard work reading Roald Dahl but even harder reading the Mr.Men, DS (7) keeps getting the look on his face at so many rules being broken at once.

The problem is that they are supposed to follow all these blardy rules in their writing to "achieve" SATS level 2 or 3. So the teachers just drum it into them without really explaining it.

I was taught that this was not correct. Then (see) DD went to school and many rules were broken in the books she was reading. The rules seem to have changed and I'm not sure what is or is not correct anymore.

I don't think it would be appropriate in a formal context, and I think it is right that children are taught this.

But in conversation, you often pause between the expression of two separate ideas - either to think or to give the listener time to absorb what is being said - then use "and" or "but" to indicate a relationship between the two. So, in informal or conversational writing, I think it is entirely appropriate to start a sentence with "and" or "but" to mimic speech and suggest a more personal relationship between writer and reader than exists, say, in an academic paper or textbook.

I think that when Roald Dahl and Roger Hargreaves do this it suggests the presence of a friendly narrator.

The King James Bible is one of the most beautiful works in the English Language. And it is full of sentences starting with 'And'. It's probably a good idea to teach small children not to do it though. School science lessons are full of little white lies that you only discover if you go on to study the subject further (two brown eyed parents not having blue eyed children, for instance). The 'And' rule is a bit like that for English.

I do it a lot but fall into the protected categories quoted by Skyatnight. There's big difference between knowing the rules and breaking them deliberately for a purpose and not knowing the rule in the first place. ee cummings got away with no caps but we wouldn't teach small children that's OK.

It's not grammatically wrong. It isn't really acceptable in academic writing but is perfectly acceptable in less formal circumstances. Additionally, language is fluid and constantly changing, so many things have changes since we were at school. What wasn't acceptable then, is, in many cases, common practice now.

I tend to do it, when trying to write in a Punchily Accessible Manner. Ahem.