Yes, you can start sentences with “and” and “but.” If you thought doing so would break a sacred law of grammar, you’re not alone. But it is (and always has been) grammatically correct.
You might remember a teacher telling you never to begin a sentence with a conjunction. Maybe you’re misremembering the advice, or maybe they actually did say that. Either way, this “rule” is more legend than law. Even Strunk and White used conjunctions to start sentences in the venerated grammar guide The Elements of Style. The real reason teachers discourage the practice is chiefly in order to avoid sentence fragments:
A sentence fragment may look similar to a sentence at first blush, but it cannot stand on its own because it lacks a subject or a verb. Starting with a conjunction can also feel abrupt or casual, likely another reason why teachers steer clear of it while students are still learning the basics of sentence structure. But that doesn’t make it grammatically incorrect.
Breaking one longer sentence into two can make a passage more accessible. Starting a sentence with a conjunction is a style choice that can shift tone, add emphasis, or create a more natural rhythm. Consider Ernest Hemingway’s spare, minimalist prose in A Farewell to Arms: “But life isn’t hard to manage when you’ve nothing to lose.”
So, yes, you can start sentences with “and,” “but,” and other conjunctions. (Remember the conjunctions with the mnemonic FANBOYS: “for,” “and,” “neither,” “but,” “or,” “yet,” and “so.”) But make sure the sentence that follows is complete, not a fragment.
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