As a recently retired English professor, I'm dismayed to see questions on
the Internet that reflect persistent misinterpretations of what constitutes
"correct grammar." Contrary to a widespread belief, it is NOT wrong to
begin a sentence with "And" or "However." These are stylistic preferences,
not improprieties. The problem with "and" is that writers often overuse it,
stringing clauses together with it as if it were an all-purpose word for
filling in a blank. It's a perfectly valid transitional word in many cases,
linking the sentence above and the sentence below to show their logical
relationship. However, if the sentence contains other "ands," or if the
logic of the sentence really calls for "but," a good writer would probably
use one of many other options (for example such alternatives as "In
addition," "Furthermore," or even a compound sentence joined with a
semicolon instead of the all-purpose and ubiquitous "and."
Helen H. Gordon, Ed. D., Prof. of English Emeritus
----- Original Message -----
From: "Alan S. Harrell" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Sent: Thursday, January 18, 2001 2:34 AM
Subject: Re: [SaF] writing proper English
> On 17 Jan 2001, 22:23, Cherie wrote:
>
> > Anyone know of a place on the net that has a dictionary of do's and
> > don'ts of writing??
> >
> > I need to find a place that shows that
> >
> > starting a sentence with "and" or "however" is not proper
>
> I see you have two excellent answers already, but let me toss in one
> more:
>
> http://esl.about.com/homework/esl/blgrammar.htm
>
> Grammar Reference
>
> http://esl.about.com/homework/esl/blgrammar.htm
>
> Those "reference pages include charts, quizzes and other related
> resources. Use these pages to quickly review specific grammar points,
> or to introduce yourself to new topics."
>
>
> Alan
> [EMAIL PROTECTED]
>
>
>
