Pet Hates........or FFS

[Marco]

Sure, and that's fine - no worries at all

I just hate the principle behind it all, whether anyone finds it useful or not, as I know where it leads.

Marco.

[Malky1422]

In literature and journalist's do it too.....Starting a sentence with the word and. And so on and so forth. Its a joining word and journalist's should know better, even some books are written this way.

[Marco]

Not sure what you're referring to specifically, Malcolm, or what that's got to do with the current discussion?

Btw, where are you in the UK? "United Kingdom" is a little too vague... The nearest big town or city would suffice, or the geographical area you live in, such as 'Essex' or whatever. Ta

Marco.

[struth]

Not sure what you're referring to specifically, Malcolm, or what that's got to do with the subject of the thread?

Btw, where are you in the UK? "United Kingdom" is a little too vague... The nearest big town or city would suffice, or the geographical area you live in, such as 'Essex' or whatever. Ta

Marco.

I think it might be one of his pet hates

[Marco]

Ah yes... I thought he was referring to something that had been written during the current discussion about self-service checkouts at supermarkets.

I agree with him, in that respect, although I sometimes do it in specific places to create emphasis.

Marco.

[Barry]

In literature and journalist's do it too.....Starting a sentence with the word and. And so on and so forth. Its a joining word and journalist's should know better, even some books are written this way.

And did those feet in ancient time,
Walk upon England's mountains green:
And was the holy Lamb of God,
On England's pleasant pastures seen!

And did the Countenance Divine,
Shine forth upon our clouded hills?
And was Jerusalem builded here,
Among these dark Satanic Mills?

Bring me my Bow of burning gold;
Bring me my Arrows of desire:
Bring me my Spear: O clouds unfold!
Bring me my Chariot of fire!

I will not cease from Mental Fight,
Nor shall my Sword sleep in my hand:
Till we have built Jerusalem,
In England's green & pleasant Land.

The rules of grammar are not set in stone; they can always be bent or broken for linguistic effect.

[walpurgis]

And I'm a major offender!

[Marco]

The rules of grammar are not set in stone; they can always be bent or broken for linguistic effect.

Indeed, and the cleverer you are with words and grammar, the more effectively it can be done...

It's rather like designing hi-fi equipment. Some stick rigidly to the 'rules' (contained in electronics books), and others use some 'poetic licence', to create a successful effect, sonically with their designs, as indeed linguists do with words, in a literary sense. It's what 'art' is all about!

Creative people rarely stick to 'the rules'... They like to think outside of the box.

Marco [never a rigid, 'black and white' thinker].

[struth]

im not artistic or poetic. someone needed to say it

[Minstrel SE]

Oh I think we can play with words to upset the grammar police. I know AND shouldnt "officially" go at the beginning of a sentence but I will I will sometimes stick it there to highlight the point that Im daring to use it there.

Even the experts agree its a myth as its been used at the start of a sentence since the beginning. If and or but are cleverly used at the beginning, it can make a better statement.

"It’s difficult to break old habits, but this one is worth considering. Just don’t tell your teacher. When most of us were in school, our English teachers made a point of forbidding us to begin a sentence with “and” or “but.” It’s one of those lessons that stuck, and writers today go to extreme lengths to avoid it. Is it really forbidden, though? Or is it just a myth?

Grammar experts universally agree that it’s a myth. According to The New Fowler’s Modern English Usage, writers have been doing it pretty much since the beginning of writing. One theory for the perplexing prohibition is that teachers were trying to encourage their young students to form complex sentences. By not allowing the use of either conjunction at the beginning of a sentence, students were forced to think about their writing and not simply string together a series of simple clauses.

Unfortunately, teachers never assigned an endpoint to the ban, and since old habits die hard, we still adhere to it today. Thus, if it works for you, there’s no reason to avoid it. Still, there are a couple of things to keep in mind as you’re considering using “and” or “but” at the start of a sentence."

The youngsters play with language....we should play with sentences as it should be ever changing. One day I will put all the apostrophes and full stops in......Oh and ban the colon!....I dont give a stuff about these traditional punctuation marks

Each to their own though and I've already mentioned that raised inflections are doing my nut in. The American spelling of the word colour gives me sleepless nights.