People often ask, “Can you start a sentence with a preposition?” The answer is yes! There’s no rule against starting a sentence with a preposition. Prepositions are words that show a relationship between a noun or pronoun and another element in a sentence.
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Can you start your sentence with a preposition?
It’s always fine to start a sentence with a preposition and also to end a sentence. Both of them are stylistic choices for writers. When you use a prepositional phrase at the beginning of a sentence, the only decision to make is when to add a comma.
What words can you not start a sentence with?
Words that can and can’t be used to begin a sentence: And, because, it.
Why should you not start a sentence with a preposition?
The wrong way to start a sentence with a preposition is when it sounds awkward. For example, instead of saying: Next to the lamp I found my glasses.
What is a phrase beginning with a preposition?
A prepositional phrase is a modifying phrase made of a preposition and the object of a preposition. Typically, a prepositional phrase begins with a preposition and follows with the object. Prepositions are words like about, across, after, for, and in.
What is a prepositional sentence opener?
a prepositional opener is placed at the beginning of the sentence and is ALWAYS followed by a comma. Today you have learned a prepositional opener changes the structure of the sentence, consists of a preposition, a modifier, a noun, AlWAYS begins at the sentence and ALWAYS is followed by a comma.
How do you avoid starting a sentence with I?
Reading back your first-person narrative, you realise you’ve started nearly every sentence with the pronoun ‘I’. It stands out to you, and feels repetitive and unimaginative.
The Quick Fix
- Start with a prepositional phrase.
- Swap the clauses.
- Cut out unnecessary actions.
- Avoid filter phrases (I thought, I saw, I heard).
Is it grammatically correct to start a sentence with the word so?
In fact, starting a sentence with a conjunction such as so, for, but can actually be totally acceptable. Most people don’t care, but those who do, care a whole lot. So, why do many people hate seeing it? Well, the main reason is that it can result in fragmented sentences, which impede flow and readability.
Is it grammatically correct to start a sentence with the word but?
The short answer is yes; there is nothing grammatically wrong with starting a sentence with a conjunction like but, and, or or.
Is it grammatically incorrect to start a sentence with and?
It’s perfectly acceptable to begin a sentence with and (as well as doing so with words such as but or or). Using and at the beginning of a sentence has been a practice for over a thousand years.
How do you prevent a dangling preposition?
In order to rewrite sentences to avoid dangling prepositions, we have to move the preposition to an earlier part of the sentence before its object. If the dangling preposition doesn’t have an object, we also have to add a pronoun (usually which) to fulfil this role.
Can we begin a question with a preposition?
Yes. They’re correct, but they also sound a little stilted. There used to be a myth that it’s bad to end a sentence with a preposition, and in some languages it really doesn’t make sense to end a sentence with a preposition, but it’s often pretty natural in English, especially when the sentence is a question.
How do you avoid prepositional phrases?
Trim Prepositional Phrases for Leaner Writing
- Delete the Phrase. Depending on the context, you can simply eliminate some prepositional phrases.
- Eliminate Buried Verbs.
- Use Adverbs, Stronger Verbs or Adjectives Instead.
- Replace a Prepositional Phrase with a Genitive.
- Use Active Voice.
What are 5 examples of prepositional phrases?
Common Words That Start Prepositional Phrases
| about | below | off |
|---|---|---|
| at | despite | since |
| because of | down | through |
| before | during | throughout |
| behind | except | to |
What are the 4 types of prepositional phrases?
Types of prepositional phrases
- Adverb prepositional phrases.
- Adjective prepositional phrases.
- Prepositional phrases behaving as nouns.
How do you use prepositions correctly?
Prepositions in the English language indicate the relationship of a noun or pronoun to something. When using a preposition, it is necessary to have the subject and verb before it and should be followed by a noun. Never follow a preposition with a verb.
What are the 7 sentence openers?
Used at the beginning of a sentence, these words signal to you that a sentence opener follows: After, Although, As, Because, Before, If, Since, Unless, Until, When, While.
What words can you start a sentence with?
Good sentence starters for emphasis
- Above all . . .
- As usual . . .
- Certainly . . .
- Indeed . . .
- Undoubtedly . . .
- Of course . . .
- Obviously . . .
- Namely . . .
What is the beginning part of a sentence called?
The basic parts of a sentence are the subject, the verb, and (often, but not always) the object. The subject is usually a noun — a word that names a person, place, or thing. The verb (or predicate) usually follows the subject and identifies an action or a state of being.
Is it grammatically incorrect to start a sentence with because?
The word “because” is a conjunction that means “for the reason that.” A conjunction is a word that joins other words or groups of words in a sentence. To answer your question: Yes, you can start a sentence with “because.” However, to be a complete sentence, it must express a complete thought.
Is it rude to start a sentence with look?
Column 8: Look, to start a sentence with ‘look’ is just rude.