coordinating conjuction

Question

The following is quoted from a website,A frequently asked question about conjunctions is whether and or but can be used at the beginning of a sentence. This is what R.W. Burchfield has to say about this use of and: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.The same is true with the conjunction but. A sentence beginning with and or but will tend to draw attention to itself and its transitional function. Writers should examine such sentences with two questions in mind: (1) would the sentence and paragraph function just as well without the initial conjunction? (2) should the sentence in question be connected to the previous sentence? If the initial conjunction still seems appropriate, use it.1)However, my Net teacher say that it is improper and odd if but, and, also etc. are used in the beginning of the sentence. What can i do?2)Moreover, i also want to know can i omit the comma of the sentence below?independent clause + comma  + independent clause.

Mister Micawber · Accepted Answer

1-- Grammarians do argue about these words-- and because and so-- starting sentences. Of course they can, and do, but I have found that ESL students at least overuse them and improperly use them in the initial position, and so I caution them to try to avoid such use. These conjunctions connect to previous ideas that are usually more clearly presented for the benefit of the reader if they are within the same sentence.

Of course, the only reasonable thing for you to do is to follow your teacher's guideline, and save initial conjunctions for your postgraduate literary efforts.

2-- Yes, you can omit that comma if the clauses are short and sweet-- but not if your teacher wants you to retain it!

Paco2004 · Answer

Hello MrMicawber

I feel I am using the headed "so" too many. It is because one of the conjunctions of my language is "sorede" or "sodakara" (therefore).

paco

Mister Micawber · Answer

Thanks for confirming that for me, Paco. I am generally aware that Japanese speech patterns are different from those in English: for instance, with a concessive conjunction, etc often heading (dakara...) or trailing (...[desu] kedo) an utterance. It is interesting to see that this kind of paralinguistic (?) phenomenon carries across to 2nd languages, just as do 'false friends', for instance.

As a matter of fact, I have a student at the moment who has been speaking English at work for some years, and has developed the habit of beginning EVERY utterance with 'So,...' -- and I am finding it impossible to break him of it, even though it impedes communication. I am sure that the same happens in the other direction, too, with learners of Japanese. Have you noticed any such in JSL speakers?

Paco2004 · Answer

Hello MrMicawber

I'm sorry I can't say anything about JSLs' Japanese speech as I don't much about it. However, I feel, as a difference between two languages, that we Japanese use conjunctions more frequently in writing than English speaking people. In Japanese writing, even a scientific one, we tend to connect two sentences with a word such as, if translated in English, "and then", "so", "but", "however", "on the other hand", etc.. Furthermore, Japanese people often connect two sentences with a word like "consequently", "therefore", "as a result" etc., even in the cases there is no cause-result relation between the facts stated in the two sentences. This tendency of the Japanese language was a bit troublesome to me when I did translation of Japanese scholars' articles into English as my student days' part-time job.

paco

Anonymous · Answer

hey what is a cordinating conjuction???

Clive · Answer

Hi,

what is a co-ordinating conjunction?

It's a conjunction that joins two clauses, phrases or words of equal value in a sentence. The most obvious example is 'and'.

He loved her and he married her.

Compare this to He married her because he loved her, where one clause is subordinate to the other. 'Because' is a conjunction, but it does not co-ordinate the two clauses.

Best wishes, Clive

Mister Micawber · Answer

what is a co-ordinating conjunction?

If you like mnemonics, remember FANBOYS: for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so.

Anonymous · Answer

can you differentiate the function of the coordinating conjunction? and whendo we use the FANBOYS??

FANBOYS are the coordinating conjunctions: they separate independent clauses. Here is more:

FANBOYS is commonly taught in North America as a http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mnemonic for the http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coordinating_conjunction, which are used to join two : for, and, nor, but, or, yet, and so.
In fact, of FANBOYS, only and, but, and or are prototypical coordinating conjunctions, while nor is close. So and yet share more properties with conjunctive adverbs (e.g., however), and "for...lack(s) most of the properties distinguishing prototypical coordinators from prepositions with clausal complements" (Huddleston, Payne, & Peterson, 2002, p. 1321).

Furthermore, there are other ways to coordinate independent clauses in English For example:

She means what she says as well as says what she means.
He was lazy plus he smoked.
I had hoped to see her, only she wasn’t home.
The work was hard, so that many people were injured.
First select file, then click OK.

Anonymous · Answer

0How can I use for and nor as a coordinating conjuction?0-

Clive · Answer

0Hi,02br
02br
01font00How can I use for and nor as a coordinating conjuction?02font02br
02br
00Here are examples.02br
02br
00She married him 01b01u00for 02u02b00she loved him.02br
02br
00She did not love him 01u01b00nor02b02u00 did she marry him.02br
02br
00Best wishes, Clive0-

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