"You Can't Use a Conjunction to Start a Sentence"

[[Dr. V]]

This has been a very widely known "rule" of the English language. It's said (by God knows who) that you aren't supposed to use and, but, because (and like words) to begin a sentence. Why? Well for that there really is no answer. The best explanation I can come up with is, I guess, a sentence is technically supposed to be one whole idea. With a conjunction in the beginning, it's kind of left hanging, almost like half a thought.

Well let's think of it this way. What if the writer of a specific sentence doesn't care about that "rule"? What if they want the sentence to start with a conjunction for a reason? Who the hell is anyone else to tell them not to?

Anapodoton. Nope, Firefox won't read it as a properly spelled word, but check Dictionary.com - it's a word. What does it mean? It's a Greek word which translates directly into "without the main clause (apodosis)." This is the term used to describe a sentence that doesn't have one entire main idea or theme to it. But what do we do now? (That was an example of anapodoton, by the way).

For example, rather than saying, "Frank described to us that instead of wanting to hang out with his friends, he wanted to stay home," you could say, "But Frank wanted to stay home."

The main reason I was motivated to post this is because I got in a rather "heated" argument with someone last week about this very issue, and he thought he was 100% right and knew everything. I most definitely proved him wrong. It's not that I was being cocky or anything like that - when I'm wrong, I'm wrong - but I knew for a 100% fact I wasn't - he THOUGHT he wasn't - so I had to do something about it.

Too many people are hounded about this rule and think it's so important to apply it. Anapodoton completely puts it to shame, proving that it doesn't matter if a sentence begins with whatever word you want it to begin with. And this, my friends, is how you end a post using anapodoton.

[Yellowhello]

Uh, um, OK........... I don't think it's all that important, but maybe I'm missing the point here.....................

[[Dr. V]]

No I guess it's not all that important in general, but I just wanted to get it out there. Lol.

I guess the general point is that the "rule" isn't really a rule. Too many people don't know that. Write however you want!

[One4yu2c]

Rules and real world applications are two different things. You can pretty much pick up any printed magazine or media and point out several instances where sentences start with 'And', 'But', 'Because', and so forth. But hey, what do I know. And no Joker, I wasn't looking for a response from you.

EDIT
And this applies not just to printed, but to online content as well. For example, note in this MSNBC article about half way down the page:

There are plenty of neighborhood disputes, however, ranging on issues as varied as Arctic waterways and passport policies to the war in Afghanistan. But the summit ended on an even keel with few announcements.

Or this Wall Street article, and the list goes on...

[[Dr. V]]

See? Conjunctions are used all the time in the beginning of sentences. Who are people to tell us that we can't use them. But they'll keep doing it. Why? Because. And now, I'll stop

[polobunny]

Originally Posted by ST!X

See? Conjunctions are used all the time in the beginning of sentences. Who are people to tell us that we can't use them. But they'll keep doing it. Why? Because. And now, I'll stop

Haha, I love this post. :P

[Dread]

But I've been to Conjunction Function Junction before. And it's a musically magical place indeed!

[Jokerswild]

Originally Posted by One4yu2c

Rules and real world applications are two different things. You can pretty much pick up any printed magazine or media and point out several instances where sentences start with 'And', 'But', 'Because', and so forth. But hey, what do I know. And no Joker, I wasn't looking for a response from you.

EDIT
And this applies not just to printed, but to online content as well. For example, note in this MSNBC article about half way down the page:

There are plenty of neighborhood disputes, however, ranging on issues as varied as Arctic waterways and passport policies to the war in Afghanistan. But the summit ended on an even keel with few announcements.

Or this Wall Street article, and the list goes on...

But,but,but..........

[Stormcrow]

Originally Posted by Dread

But I've been to Conjunction Function Junction before. And it's a musically magical place indeed!

Conjunction Junction, what's your function?
Hookin up words and phrases and clauses


Conjunction Junction, what's their function?
I got "and", "but", and "or"
They'll get you pretty far

[JazzyJake]

Originally Posted by ST!X

See? Conjunctions are used all the time in the beginning of sentences. Who are people to tell us that we can't use them. But they'll keep doing it. Why? Because. And now, I'll stop

They will keep doing it, however.
They keep doing it because. <--(once worded properly it still sounds pretty 1st grade.)
Now I'll stop.

you don't need them, they just become a part of colloquial speech that we use so much it's more comfortable then using what's taken as proper grammar in our daily speech.

regardless if it sounds right, i think it's still inproper