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Can we start a sentence with "And"? Is the following example correct?

From now on, the biochemistry lecture class on Mondays at 10.30 a.m. will be held on Sundays at 11.30 a.m instead. And the anatomy lecture class on Sundays at 11.30 a.m. will be held on Mondays at 10.30 a.m instead.

user61332
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  • Yes. Perfectly fine. And no need to worry about it. – Noah Jan 05 '14 at 08:43
  • Personally, I would just join the two clauses together with an "and" leaving out the first "instead". Monday's biochemistry lecture class at 10.30 a.m. will now be on Sundays at 11.30 a.m. and the anatomy class on Sundays will be ... – Mari-Lou A Jan 05 '14 at 11:16
  • And why not start them all with and? And, you know, that's what they did in Annalic Hittite. – John Lawler Jan 05 '14 at 17:01

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Feel free to start a sentence that way.

In the past, English teachers used to preach that one should never start a sentence with conjunctions like and or but... It is already acceptable to start sentences with such conjunctions. Some authorities, in fact, even defend that for some cases conjunctions will do a better job than more formal constructions.
"That it is a solecism to begin a sentence with and is a faintly lingering superstition. The OED gives examples ranging from the 10th to the 19th c.; the Bible is full of them."
While it is acceptable to use such conjunctions to start a sentence, you should still use them carefully and efficiently, else your text might become choppy.

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 New Fowler's Modern English Usage

anongoodnurse
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