CAN YOU START A SENTENCE WITH THE WORD ‘AND’?

“You can’t start a sentence with the word ‘And’,” someone said to me recently.

“Why not?” I replied.

“Because it’s a cOnJuNcTiOn!” they panicked.

“And?”

“Yes, And.”

“No, I’m asking – as in, And why does it matter that it’s a conjunction?”

“Because you can’t start a sentence with a conjunction.”

“Why not?”

“Because… you just can’t. It’s the rules.”

They walked away.

*

Of course you can start a sentence with the word And.

And I’ll prove it.

Look, there you go. I did it.

And no one got hurt, or even died.

Look, I did it again.

*

So where did this myth come from? Why do people think they’re not allowed to start a sentence with the word And?

From my understanding, back in the Stone Age, an English teacher told your parents they couldn’t start a sentence with the word And. They were led to believe that if they did, the world would go “pop”, like a giant balloon.

Now, I’m not suggesting we scrap rules. Rules can be good. They keep us in check. They stop us going out and robbing banks or leaving the house without any clothes on. We like rules.  

But where do we draw the line?

Where’s the line between rules for good reason, and rules for the sake of rules?

In my opinion, not starting a sentence with the word And is a rule for the sake of a rule. There’s no rhyme or reason to it. It’s daft.

It’s daft because using And at the start of a sentence is how we talk. We say things. And then we say another thing.

“And another thing…”

To restrict our writing to try and avoid the way we naturally communicate with each other is madness.

Using And is a great way to break up sentences. It stops them becoming tired and convoluted. Sentences have a funny way of wandering off if you don’t make them behave. So try breaking them up every once in a while with the occasional And. The same goes for So, But and Or.

So the next time someone says you can’t start a sentence with the word And, ask them:

“And why might that be?”