Many generations of students have had certain grammar “truths”
drilled into their little heads. One is the “myth” that
infinitives can’t be split. But today we’re going to discuss the
myth that sentences can’t start with conjunctions. (Actually,
whether teachers do indeed prohibit conjunctive beginnings seems
to be almost as much a myth as the prohibition itself. But more
on that later.) Conjunctions, which join things in grammar, come
in three flavors: Coordinating, which link things directly
(“and,” “but,” “for,” “nor,” “or,” “so,” etc.,); correlative,
which are used in pairs and connect parallel things (“both and,”
“either or,” “neither or,” “not only but also,” “whether or,”
etc.); and subordinating, which usually join clauses to other,
nonparallel, parts of the sentence (“after,” “although,”
“before,” “if,” “since, “that,” “while,” etc.) Note that many
subordinating conjunctions have multiple roles in grammar:
“After,” for example, is also a preposition; “that” can be a
relative pronoun; and many subordi