Use an infinitive phrase as a subject: To get a head start was his goal. Like 'thus', 'therefore'tends to occur more frequently at the beginning of sentences, separated by a comma from the subject of the sentence. Punctuation: How to Use Therefore in a Sentence. However, according to Strunk & White’s Elements of Style, it may only be used at the beginning of a sentence when it means “in whatever way” or “to whatever extent”. A grammatically correct sentence can begin with ANY WORD in the English language. (I just did.) Answer: If you are writing in the first person, you really can't get away from using "I" but you can put these sentence starters in front of the "I" so that it doesn't jump out at the reader. 1. These include the following: however, moreover, therefore, thus, consequently, furthermore, unfortunately. Begin a sentence with an infinitive phrase used as an adjective: To get a head start, he arrived 20 minutes early. If you are one of those people who prefers to avoid people who begin their sentences with these words, and if you would like to further curtail your sentence-initial word choices, there have been a large number of other words that we have previously been told not to use in that position. You CAN start a sentence with conjunctions as long as the sentence is not a fragment. My guidelines for words such as however, therefore, moreover and furthermore are as follows. I'm writing a paper right now and am thinking about whether or not I can in fact use however to start a paragraph because I want to show a relationship between the last paragraph and the next. 4. Therefore, generations of schoolchildren were taught that these were to be used within a sentence rather than at the beginning. For rhetorical or stylistic reasons, and, but, because, however, and therefore often deserve a less conspicuous position, and in some cases, they can be omitted altogether. A company can adopt a standardized approach or an internal models approach, with the former generally leading to much higher capital charges and the latter requiring regulatory approval. meaning you need to write a complete sentence. Therefore, the question should be, can I start a sentence or paper with a quote? But the truth is, you can. So, I would use a comma in both instances. Can You Begin a Sentence with These Words? I would just like to say that some people forget that when you start a sentence by -ing, you are limiting your choice of subject - the subject has to be whatever is - ing in the clause. Mechnikov considered the plate thus formed at the base of the polyp as equivalent to the umbrella, and the body of the polyp as equivalent to the manubrium, of the medusa; on this view the marginal tentacles almost invariably present in medusae are new formations, and the tentacles of the polyp are represented in the medusa by … Generally speaking, a comma should help a reader understand the sentence, and a comma often reflects where a brief pause would be when the sentence is spoken. The reason your teacher may have taught you this was to discourage you from writing sentence fragments. Yes. These style guides can dictate anything from whether to hyphenate underachiever to whether to treat data as singular or plural to, yes, whether or not you can begin a sentence with a conjunction. Sentences ... "If you can't find him, we 'll help," she said as she commenced cooking. It is acceptable to start a sentence with however. You should use 'therefore' when you are writing a conclusion to something you are describing. ... For a start we could have him take a nap up there while we fix lunch. Moreover, the managers agree. Spelling out a large number at the start of a sentence can be awkward. Although I do know that you can definitely start a sentence with however, I'm not exactly sure about using the word however to start a … You … In informal spoken language you may often hear conversations like 'Who did you go with? you cant start a gramatically correct english sentence with therefore,even if there is a sentence before it that gives a base to it's meaning because sentences,are usually cosidered indivisually. So is the start of a sentence always the best place to locate one of these words when you want to signal a transition? In this case, simply omit the word and alter the form of … Even if one buys into the prohibition against starting a sentence with a conjuction, "therefore" is not a conjunction. Here, a subordinate clause headed by with ends rather than begins the sentence. It also is similar to a transition word, such as however or therefore, both of which could have been used instead in this example. What to Know. The question I get asked most frequently about however is whether it is OK to use however at the beginning of a sentence, and the answer is yes: it is fine to start a sentence with however. 'With my dad.' Can you start a sentence with but? Even if you want to make the boss happy, at a minimum you need to take kenvlach's correction and change the comma before "therefore" to a semicolon. Once you are past that developmental stage, however, there is no reason why you can’t start a sentence with a conjunction. 0. Grammatically, there is no reason why and , but, or any of the others can’t go at the beginning of the sentence at all. 0 0 Neal P It is really a subordinate conjuction so if you can avoid putting at the beginning it is preferable - the trouble is that you can end up with over long sentences so to be practical it is often necessary to split it - same problem with 'However' .Nevertheless' and 'Therefore… At the beginning of a sentence. Avoid Opening a Sentence with a Large Number. 'Many usages guides have tried to restrict the usage of "however," suggesting it cannot start a sentence, be used with "but," or replace "nevertheless," but none of these guides can agree and there is ample historical evidence of "however" being used at the start of a sentence. The clause agrees with the subject. When the word is used to mean “nevertheless”, it may not come first in its sentence or clause. In fact, starting a sentence with "however" is a clear way to link a new sentence to the previous sentence, which is the primary function of a conjunctive adverb like "however." I am sure you must recall your high school English teacher told you that beginning a sentence with a conjunction was wrong. If you use these words at the beginning of a sentence, put a comma after them. How to use we in a sentence. Therefore, we will proceed with the order. But remember that conjunctive adverbs can be used in any part of a sentence. Regardless of your own style leanings, you're expected to follow the dictates of that style guide. 6. The answer is yes, but you would need a good reason to do this. Most of the time, problems occur when the writer uses a conjunctive adverb in the middle of a sentence when a coordinating conjunction is actually needed. That beginning a sentence with `` however. conjunctive adverbs can be awkward, therefore, thus consequently! 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