That's certainly interesting how us Brits are taught that using But, Because & And at the beginning of sentences is considered bad, but that International English promotes it. Must be one of those quirks. Mind you at least it only applies to 60 million or so of us in the world! lol I can honestly say it will be hard for me to pass up changing them but I'll try my best to keep in mind your comments.
Claire On 1 March 2010 19:28, Jean Hollis Weber <[email protected]> wrote: > Claire Wood wrote: > >> I've noticed some common faults with grammar and thought I should raise >> this, just as a reminder or aid for anyone that is not a native-English >> speaker/writer. >> >> I've come across instances when editing documentation where conjunctions >> (words that are used to connect two or more clauses, phrases or words >> together to make longer constructions) are being used to start >> sentences. The most common words that I've noticed are "because" >> and "but". It is considered bad English to start a sentence with them. >> We >> tend to encourage the use of "As" instead of "because" and "However" >> instead >> of "but" at the beginning of sentences. There are other examples of words >> to use as alternatives but I thought I'd stick with the most common ones >> used in technical documentation. >> [details snipped] >> >> >> Where I have seen "but" being used in technical documents, at the >> beginning >> of sentences, I've changed it for another conjunctive adverb that is more >> acceptable at the beginning of sentences, for example "However". >> [detailed snipped] >> >> >> Don't ask me why we tend to do it this way, all I know is that is the >> proper >> way. >> >> If it is done differently elsewhere in the world I'd love to hear about >> it. >> >> > Starting a sentence with "Because" is quite acceptable, at least in > American and Australian English. I've co-authored a recently-published book* > on technical editing; although I did not write the grammar portion, it > definitely gave examples of using co-ordinating conjunctions such as > "Because" at the start of a sentence. My co-authors even used "But" and > "And" at the start of a sentence; I don't like that usage, but as Gary > notes, CMOS promotes it. BTW, in the book we discourage the use of "As" in > place of "Because"; the two words have different meanings and are often > interchangeable. > > Many "rules" of grammar are actually conventions of usage, which vary from > one country or region to another. You might be interested in reading an > article I wrote on this topic: Escape from the grammar trap, > http://www.jeanweber.com/newsite/?page_id=23 > > * Technical Editing in the 21st Century, by Nicole Amare, Barry Nowlin, and > Jean Hollis Weber, Prentice Hall, February 18, 2010, ISBN 978-0131196773. > (It's a textbook, so it's overpriced. Reference given for information > purposes only; I'm not trying to sell it to anyone here.) > > --Jean > > > --------------------------------------------------------------------- > To unsubscribe, e-mail: [email protected] > For additional commands, e-mail: [email protected] > > -- Best wishes Claire Wood
