comma=because

[Herb Stahlke]

I've asked a fair number of K12 and college writing teachers about
the prohibition on beginning sentences with conjunctions or with
"because", and the reason I most regularly get is that it's a
time-saver.  Instead of trying to explain why this is wrong but
not always, they'd rather just ban the structures and thereby
avoid fragments and other horros of English composition.

Herb

<<< flanigan at OAK.CATS.OHIOU.EDU  1/25  6:06p

And I do this too, especially, as you say, with short, "rolling"
clauses.  My favorite college mentor insisted we never begin a
sentence
with "and," "but," or "so"--but now I often do in informal
writing.  (He
wouldn't like that dash/two hyphens either.)

_____________________________________________
Beverly Olson Flanigan         Department of Linguistics
Ohio University                     Athens, OH  45701
Ph.: (740) 593-4568              Fax: (740) 593-2967
http://www.cats.ohiou.edu/linguistics/dept/flanigan.htm