Yes, You Can Start a Sentence with “But”!

Instant Quiz

Can you improve the sentence below? Scroll to the bottom of today’s post for the answer.

At yesterday’s meeting, Alan “exploded” when Clare challenged his proposal.

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Last week Ann Levin reviewed a novel called Red Bone for the Associated Press. You can read her review here: https://apnews.com/9f6ff3dccd604349b30b58157dfde523.

I immediately sent a response to my local newspaper, which printed Levin’s review. She made a serious error in her first paragraph:

Jacqueline Woodson begins her dazzling new novel, “Red at the Bone,” with an afterthought, in the middle of things, and breaking all the rules of grammar by starting with a “but”: “But that afternoon there was an orchestra playing.”

Woodson didn’t break “all the rules of grammar.” She didn’t break even one rule of grammar. There’s no rule against starting a sentence with but – and never has been. AP articles frequently start sentences with but, and I’m astonished that Levin – an AP writer – doesn’t know this.

My letter appeared in yesterday’s newspaper. You can read it here: https://www.theledger.com/opinion/20190923/letter-but-you-can-start-sentences-with-but

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Instant Quiz ANSWER

Professional writers don’t use quotation marks to apologize for a word choice. They don’t belong in this sentence. Clare didn’t throw a bomb at Alan. He wasn’t blown to smithereens. But explode perfectly describes how he reacted to Clare’s challenge.

At yesterday’s meeting, Alan exploded when Clare challenged his proposal. CORRECT

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