Is it OK to start a sentence off with And?

[Ilovemycam]

Is it OK to start a sentence off with 'And'?

 

[pgriz]

And why not? In formal writing, no, but if the text is more colloquial or conversational, it can flow. Depends on the context, the audience, and your message.

 

[runnah]

No and then!

 

[EIngerson]

No it isn't. And I mean that.

 

[pixmedic]

No it isn't. And I mean that.

And I see what you did there!

 

[Designer]

And the diseducation of America marches on.

 

[Overread16 4]

Eh strictly speaking you should never start a sentence with and. That said in less formal writing you can get away with it (heck Sir Terry Pratchet does it all the time and he's sold a few million books so he can't be that bad a writer )

 

[KenC]

And how!

 

[rexbobcat]

It depends on how the sentence is to be read in my opinion. I'd much rather read a new sentence starting with And instead of one long sentence with comma after comma after semi-colon.

 

[sm4him]

Okay, I'm going to be the grumpy professional editor person here: You keep asking these very, very basic editorial questions. I *think* I recall seeing in one of your posts that you are writing a book. Is that correct?
I'm feeling about this like the pro photographers on here feel when people come on and say they just bought a D3100 and they've got their first wedding in a week.

As has been mentioned above, the answer to your question depends on what you are writing. A text message? Sure, use "And" at the beginning. A blog post? Well, those are still pretty informal and you *might* just get away with it and still sound somewhat literate.

"And" is a conjunction, used to connect words of the same part of speech, clauses or sentences that are to be taken jointly. As such, there are very, very, VERY few instances where using "And" at the beginning of a sentence is considered a good editorial practice.

Assuming you are, in fact, writing a book, I *highly* recommend you hire an editor, posthaste.

 

[Bitter Jeweler]

The Bible does it, so you can too!

 

[Kazooie]

And then he got laid.

 

[Ilovemycam]

And why not? In formal writing, no, but if the text is more colloquial or conversational, it can flow. Depends on the context, the audience, and your message.

I'd be writing to curators of museums and prestigious university libraries.

Is either of these 2 choices OK?

1) So, if there is no problem with the library collecting original works of art. And the proposed photos I will have in my book are acceptable to the library.

2) So, if there is no problem with the library collecting original works of art and the proposed photos I will have in my book are acceptable to the library.


BTW, a little background on what I am doing. I have had good luck with placing letter size, bound portfolios of my work with the top university libraries in the US, UK and Europe.

I never knew this, but some libraries have a policy against collecting original work of arts. I was rejected by one library for this reason. Most libraries also wont accept loose portfolios of prints. But they do like the same prints that are in bound book form. So I confirm that the 'original works of art' issue is not going to be a problem.

The books I am sending are hand printed on rag paper, spiral bound and end up to the rare and special collections division of art libraries where they are under lock and key.

The hand printed book is made in 4 editions, all limited with copies ranging from 25 to 125. The book is priced at $4500, but donated for free to the library. Oh course, only the top libraries in the world get this offer. But my limited edition book is a mirror image of the commercial book that is in the works. I won't mind donating a commercial book to slightly lesser libraries.

All you Blurb publishers...you may be able to place volumes of your work at libraries using this same method.

 

[Ilovemycam]

Okay, I'm going to be the grumpy professional editor person here: You keep asking these very, very basic editorial questions. I *think* I recall seeing in one of your posts that you are writing a book. Is that correct?
I'm feeling about this like the pro photographers on here feel when people come on and say they just bought a D3100 and they've got their first wedding in a week.

As has been mentioned above, the answer to your question depends on what you are writing. A text message? Sure, use "And" at the beginning. A blog post? Well, those are still pretty informal and you *might* just get away with it and still sound somewhat literate.

"And" is a conjunction, used to connect words of the same part of speech, clauses or sentences that are to be taken jointly. As such, there are very, very, VERY few instances where using "And" at the beginning of a sentence is considered a good editorial practice.

Assuming you are, in fact, writing a book, I *highly* recommend you hire an editor, posthaste.

Yes, it would be nice to have lots of $ to throw at a project. But it all has to be budgeted.

Well, I am a museum quality documentary film photographer that is able to produce excellent quality wet or digital prints...that is it. I am not a digital expert nor a English expert. So I use the forum to help with the rest.

Text is about 15 pages. 75 photos is the main part of the book. 'Producing a photo book' may be a better wording than writing. Book will rest on photos not text.

Book is about 95% done. Had wife look it over. She helped some. But she hates my photography and would like to trash it all when I die. So I'm pretty much on my own.

 

[Designer]

It's too bad you are not better educated in English. Most librarians are fairly well educated, so your communication with them should be "top shelf" so as to put your best foot forward.