And / So / But



Even though they shouldn't, students often write sentences that begin with these words.   Look at the following examples:

 
     I want to go to the movies tonight.  But I have a lot of homework to do.

     I have a lot of homework to do.  So I can't go to the movies tonight.

     I have to do homework.  And I have to work for three hours tonight.

In each of these examples, the second sentence is incorrect.  That is because "and", "so", and "but" cannot be used at the beginning of a sentence.  These words are used to join two thoughts together, so they appear between the two, like this:
 
 
     I want to go to the movies tonight, but I have a lot of homework to do.

     I have a lot of homework to do, so I can't go to the movies tonight.

     I have a lot of homework to do, and I have to work for three hours tonight.


You can separate the two thoughts if you want to, but you have to use different words.  Here's how it's done:

 
     I want to go to the movies.  However, I have a lot of homework to do.

     I have a lot of homework to do.  Therefore, I can't go to the movies tonight.

     I have a lot of homework to do.  Also, I have to work for three hours tonight.

Separating the two thoughts in this way adds a little "weight" to the second thought and makes it sound just a bit more important.  If you don't want to do this, just link the two thoughts with "and," "so," or "but."