Can you start an essay sentence with the word but?

Answer 1

You can make a sentence referring to the word itself.

'But' is used to indicate a codocil, or drawback to an action.

But you can also use it to continue a thought from a previous sentence, rather than including it as part of that sentence.

He was up all night working on his project. But the final result was not what he expected, and he had to revise his thesis.

Answer 2

"Technically" you aren't supposed to, but often the word "but" does begin sentences. It's used this way more for effect, rather than for general writing. Some people still forbid starting a sentence with a conjunction, but it is very often used by professional writers, and almost all usage dictionaries will tell you that it is okay now.

Answer 3

Yes you can, a sentence by definition does not include grammar rules, so any grouping of words that are connected are considered sentences.

The rules for starting a sentence with a conjunction have been softened up. While it may still be considered unprofessional to start a sentence with one. It is acceptable to do in some places.

If you want to avoid using but at the beginning of sentences try these.

Instead of: "But, I like the red one too."

Try: "The red one is nice too."

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I was brought up to believe that a sentence, by definition, DOES have rules that govern the placement of words to ensure the meaning is conveyed accurately. For example, these rules mandate that you use "I" as the subject of a sentence, but "me" as the object. Another rule states that a sentence has a verb. There are a host of other guidelines that dictate where we place adverbs, adjective and the like within a sentence.

On that basis, one should be very careful about starting a sentence with the words "and" or "but", as these words are generally used to join two phrases and create a relationship between them, one needs to tke great care that two related ideas are not separated. It is far easier to have just the one sentence - that way, you can't go wrong!

Answer 4

Not really. But people do. "But" is a coordinating conjunction and is generally used to join coordinating structures, such as two independent clauses.

Example: The man was hungry, but he didn't eat.

If you want to start a sentence with a word of contrast, I recommend using an adverbial conjunction, such as "however."

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The use of a conjunction at the start of a sentence is sometimes justified if it directly continues the thought from the preceding sentence. This is used where the first sentence is so long or complex that it would become unwieldy. The word "however" performs the same function, but can introduce an entirely new thought as well.

Example:

The county fair had a huge number of farm animals including cows, pigs, goats, horses, mules, chickens, rabbits, and sheep. But there were no dogs. There had been trouble with some dogs at the event a year earlier.

Answer 5

You can. You can also get an F, depending on how strongly your teacher feels about such things.

In this circumstance, you should fall back on one of the great truisms of education: For the purposes of homework, tests, and other classwork, adhere as closely as possible to whatever your teacher believes to be correct, even if you know that it is in fact purest nonsense.

In this case, though, I'm siding with what I presume to be your teacher's instructions: don't do it. You may be able to get away with the occasional judicious use of "However," but you'll want to be careful not to overdo it, because even the dullest of teachers will eventually realize that's essentially just "but" in fancy clothes. It's better to rewrite the sentence entirely or combine it with the previous one if that's not too unwieldy.

Answer 6

According to the Chicago Manual of Style, 16th edition, it's perfectly fine to begin a sentence with 'and' or 'but.'

Answer 7

Yes, you can use but to begin a sentence. But, you should separate it with a comma.

Answer 8

Of course! (But do this sparingly.)