Can you use "And" at the beginning of a sentance?

Question

Can you use "And" at the beginning of a sentance? Also, when do you use ; Thanks!!

Answer 1

(1) The question of whether it's OK to use "and" to begin a sentence should be paired with the same question about "but".

Contrary to what many are saying, this usage is NOT ungrammatical or otherwise incorrect. In fact, you will frequently see both words used this way in print, in WELL-WRITTEN prose. Why? Because there is NOTHING wrong with it!

So why do people THINK it's wrong? That is probably the result of grade school teachers telling us for to avoid the practice. I do not know for sure why they did so. It may be they did not know any better. Or perhaps they (or those THEY learned it from) were trying to encourage us to VARY our sentence structure and to avoid the common mistake of misusing or OVERusing such words.

At any rate MANY guides to usage approve of it, and have for some time. For example:

"There is a persistent belief that it is improper to begin a sentence with And, but this prohibition has been cheerfully ignored by standard authors from Anglo-Saxon times onwards. An initial And is a useful aid to writers as the narrative continues."
-from The New Fowler's Modern English Usage
http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/conjunctions.htm

'“In his youth Dostoevsky had been attracted to utopian socialism of the Fourierist variety. But four years in a prison camp in Siberia shook his faith.” As this quotation from J.M. Coetzee shows, the conjunction but can be highly effective as a sentence opener. You may still hear the injunction against beginning a sentence with a conjunction. The idea is that these sentences express “incomplete” thoughts. But a glance through any magazine or newspaper will show you that beginning with but has become common practice, and initial but must be considered acceptable at all levels of style.'
-The American Heritage® Book of English Usage.
A Practical and Authoritative Guide to Contemporary English.
http://bartelby.org/64/C001/017.html

"Contrary to what your high school English teacher told you, there's no reason not to begin a sentence with but or and; in fact, these words often make a sentence more forceful and graceful. They are almost always better than beginning with however or additionally. Beginning with but or and does make your writing less formal; — but worse things could happen to most writing than becoming less formal."
-Lynch Guide to Grammar and Style
http://andromeda.rutgers.edu/~jlynch/Writing/b.html

__________________________

(2) When should I use the semicolon?

You should know that this bit of punctuation is far less popular today than it once was. You CAN use it to form a slight break between two independent clauses, EXCEPT when the second begins with a conjunction. (For a simple example, look at the quote from the Lynch Guide above.) But the modern tendency in that case is simply, whenever possible, to treat them as two distinct sentences.

There are still some cases in which I believe NOT splitting them is better, since it shows that there is a close connection between the two clauses. Check some of the examples in the links below.

The other instance where a semicolon should be used is when it is needed to distinguish major breaks within a sentence already containing commas to mark the smaller breaks. A common example of this is separating the items in a list with a semicolon when some of the individual items in the list are expressions that already have commas in them.

For more explanation and examples:
http://msms.essortment.com/semicolon_rcnr.htm
http://www.ehow.com/how_5955_semicolon.html

Answer 2

It REALLY depends on the type of men. For example, I myself am (I daresay) quite reasonably well-off in life in regards to financial issues and looks and I know it (the important thing is I believe that to be true, not that it is a fact). If a guy has such a personality as I, then your assumption is correct, they do not like chasing women down, because there is a feeling that eventually a good woman will come by anyways. However, it must be said for many men who do not have such self-confidence (or ego in some cases). Then it can be said that women who are 'unavailable' (but who IS NOT dating him at the time) seem more appealing due to the mystery and the natural propensity to understand/explore more about the woman. Judge accordingly whether the man you are thinking of is self-confident to my degree, or someone who really wants to find a woman. Once that judgement is made, you will know the answer to your question. Good luck!

Answer 3

And before i answere that question can u tell me if you can use it at the end of a sentance? - no u cant

Answer 4

I suppose you could if you wanted to, but off hand I can't think of a reason you'd want to. "And" is more designed to be something that adds two things together, not a stand alone sentence starter.

"I'm going to the bank, AND the post office."

So, seeing "and" is a clue to look for something that was said earlier because something is about to follow. If it starts the sentence, what was before?

Answer 5

Of course you can use "and" at the beginning of a sentence, here is an example:
ANDrew Carnegie was a philanthropist.
Or this one:
ANDy is the name of Raggedy Ann's brother.

Answer 6

Another word choice would be of a much better use.
To begin a sentence with AND..doesn't show a stimulated mind or proper English.
Good Question.

Answer 7

No you don't use and at the beginning of a sentence.
examples .
.
Up and down.
In and out.
Around and around.
May I have a cup of tea and a biscuit.
In my bag I have a purse phone comb and lipstick.
So you see......and joins the words together.

Answer 8

You need to watch FINDING FORRESTER with Sean Connery. There is a great scene in there that answers your question nicely.

Answer 9

No, its ia preposition, used to connect two sentences together, similar to but, however, thus.

Answer 10

Answer to first question, no. Answer to second question, a semicolon is used to link two complete sentences together. Example:

I am going to work today. (SENTENCE 1)
Today is a really dreary day. (SENTENCE 2)

I am going to work today; today is a really dreary day.