The topic of grammar can literally send shivers up the spine of the most ardent language lover, so imagine the effect the mere mention of grammar has on those who are called upon to write for their business or their organization but are unsure of their writing skills.

Sorry to say, grammar does have to be discussed now and then, if only to avoid costly or embarrassing mistakes down the road. A good place to begin any grammar refresher course is with the mythology that has built up around English style and usage. So lets start by dispelling some of the more common myths lurking out there that have, sadly, become entrenched as law in the minds of many who dare put pen to paper.

Myth Number One states that you cannot begin a sentence with a coordinating conjunction. Just as a reminder, conjunctions are those little words like and, but, for, or, nor, yet and so. But of course you can! And this is why: its a non-error!

This so-called rule has arbitrarily appeared on the books when in fact English has never had such a rule. In truth, writers have been using conjunctions at the beginning of sentences for centuries. It could have started as a stylistic suggestion then calcified into a rule over time.

Stylistically speaking, there are times when it may be preferable to avoid using a conjunction at the beginning of a sentence or to avoid writing a sentence fragment. But there is no hard and fast rule about it. Sometimes writing has more impact and punch when a sentence starts off with a conjunction. It may be just the style that is required! Marketing and sales material could benefit from such dynamic and direct sentence structures while text that requires a more fluid or formal narrativebusiness correspondence, a white paper, a proposal, a corporate annual reportwould benefit from longer, flowing sentences in which the coordinating conjunctions join the thoughts and ideas the document needs to convey.

If there is a rule it is the rule of discretion. Use what you think best suits the purpose. And know that English is a flexible, vibrant and muscular language that cannot be easily straitjacketed!

So the next time someone gets on his or her high horse and tells you that you cannot start your sentences with and or but remind them that the practice is perfectly legitimate and has been so for eons, from Chaucer to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.

2006 Victoria White
http://www.thevirtualwriter.ca/