“Conjunctions” or “The Marriage of Thoughts”

I would like my first post about grammar to focus on a pet peeve of mine. There is a tendency in writing that has grown more and more pronounced with the passage of time. This tendency is for conjunctions to be used after a period, or in other words, at the beginning of a sentence. I would like to pose the concept that such a tendency is actually bad form in most cases, even if it is not considered grammatically incorrect.

I understand that, when I present this idea, I am taking a very unpopular position. What I ask of my readers is that you give me the opportunity to present my case. If I succeeded in convincing you completely, all well and good. If I succeed in making you believe I might have a point, but you aren’t willing to agree with me completely; I’m fine with that also. If I fail to convince you at all, we can simply agree to disagree.

It is true that the Marriam-Webster dictionary states that conjunctions can join sentences

https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/conjunction

as does the Webster’s dictionary of 1828

https://webstersdictionary1828.com/Dictionary/conjunction

That being said, consider that the first definition of the Webster’s 1828 states that a conjunction is, very simply, a “union; connection; association by treaty or otherwise.”

Also consider the most basic form of the word ‘conjunction’ according to the current Merriam-Webster

https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/conjoin

• To join together (things, such as separate entities) for a common purpose.

If you look at the etymology of the word conjoin, it simply means ‘to join.’

I hear you. “What’s the problem with using conjunctions at the beginning of sentences, then? You can’t get much more ‘joining separate entities’ than that.” True . . . but I have something else for you to consider.

Some or all of you might have heard someone having an argument with another person, and one of them finishes their argument with the words “full stop.” This indicates that they feel there can be no more argument and that they have won because they feel what they have said is indisputable or a self-evident truth. There will be no meeting of minds or agreeing to disagree once that ‘full stop’ has been placed at the end of their sentence.

What does the term ‘full stop’ mean? It is a reference to a period.

https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/full%20stop

A period is a full stop. There is no more discussion. The period has ended the sentence and the thought. There is no joining when there is no more discussion.

If you want to join similar thoughts, you can. It’s very easy. “The period has ended the sentence and the thought, and there is no joining when there is no more discussion.”

Another example could be, “A period is a full stop, and there is no more discussion.”

Did you notice how I simply exchanged the period, aka full stop for a comma? This allowed thought to continue to flow because a comma is a soft pause, like one participant in a discussion waiting to hear what the other has to say, or a simple drawing of breath in order to continue the thought or sentence. I also added a conjunction to join the thoughts.

There is something else to consider.

When brushing up on my skills using English Grammar for Dummies by Geraldine Woods, I read an excellent quote.

“Listen to the nearest toddler and you may hear something like ‘I played with the clay and I went to the zoo and Mommy said I have to take a nap and . . . ‘ and so forth. Monotonous, yes. But -surprise, surprise- grammatically correct.”

This paragraph seems as though it might be about avoiding saying and excessively without breaking it up with a period. Yes and no. The first paragraphs in that chapter speak about avoiding run-on sentences. As clarification, a run-on sentence is one sentence which contains several complete sentences that only needed periods to make them manageable, but were all joined instead, causing them to run on and on. That is a problem, of course.

I would, however, like to point out the other, less blatantly stated concept. Would someone really be turning a run-on sentence into a proper sentence (in other words, not a run-on sentence) if they just put a solid pause before the next and? The only difference between the run-on sentence and the final result is a period. It’s like when a child is told not to jump on the bed because they will fall and hurt themselves, so they make one jump and pause before taking another jump. “But mom/dad, I’m not jumping on the bed. That’s just a hop!” It’s the same thing, and both the parents and the child know it. The purposeful pause before jumping does not change the fact that jumping on the bed is taking place.

‘I played with the clay and I went to the zoo and Mommy said I have to take a nap and . . . ‘

Now, look at this “fix” which is used almost obsessively in modern writing.

‘I played with the clay. And I went to the zoo. And Mommy said I have to take a nap. And . . . ‘

This does not solve the problem of the run-on sentence. It simply hides the problem and pretends it’s not there. Would you feel confident in a mechanics abilities if they told you that they didn’t know why the check engine light came on, but they can turn it off? This is exactly what is happening when someone “gets rid” of a run-on sentence by doing nothing more than adding a period.

These are only the technical reasons I feel that conjunctions at the beginning of sentences and paragraphs should be avoided as much as possible, with only carefully considered exceptions. Yes, I said there are exceptions. These exceptions, along with the less technical reasons I believe what I do about conjunctions, will be covered in the second installment. Examples of how to fix covered up run-on sentences will also be given in the next blog post. I hope you tune in.

In the meantime, I hope that my readers will consider what I have said in the hope that the art of writing strong sentences becomes easier. This way, we can all enjoy the wonder.

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