---
title: "Note to legal writers: You CAN start sentences with But."
description: Cooley Law School Distinguished Professor Emeritus contributes the post to legal writers. You CAN start sentences with But.
---

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# [Note to legal writers: You CAN start sentences with But.](https://cooley.edu/blog/note-to-legal-writers-you-can-start-sentences-with-but)

 Written by [Otto Stockmeyer](https://cooley.edu/blog/author/otto-stockmeyer) | Aug 27, 2019 7:00:00 PM

My colleague [Joe Kimble](https://www.cooley.edu/faculty/joseph-kimble) has attempted to refute the common superstition against beginning a sentence with the word "but."

According to Kimble in [*Lifting the Fog of Legalese*](https://cap-press.com/books/isbn/9781594602122/Lifting-the-Fog-of-Legalese), the word 'but' is "far more common and more deft than 'however' to show contrast at the beginning of a sentence.”

Others have rightly pointed out that, rather than being incorrect or too informal for legal writing, "but" is sometimes the best way to start a sentence.

How far can the battle against this superstition be carried? Is it ever proper English to begin a paragraph with "but?" An entire chapter? My quick survey has produced an example of each, both by noted writers.

No less an authority on language, [Bryan Garner](https://www.lawprose.org/bryan-garner/) began a paragraph with *But* in the *Scribes Journal of Legal Writing* (vol. 3, p. 91):

> *But (some might say) we’re talking here about formal legal writing, not newspapers!*

And [Stephen Ambrose](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephen_E._Ambrose), no slouch of a writer, began a chapter in his 2001 book [The Wild Blue](https://www.amazon.com/Wild-Blue-B-24s-Germany-1944-45/dp/0743223098) (p. 225):

> *But the approaching end of winter brought little improvement in the weather.*

As these professional writers illustrate, it is not necessarily poor form to use "but" to begin a sentence, a paragraph, or even a book chapter. Is that as far as the point can be pursued? Is it possible that an entire book beginning with "but" is out there somewhere? Or a book title?

A brief search turned up a music album by Phil Collins titled [*But Seriously*](https://www.amazon.com/s?k=but+seriously+by+phil+collins&i=popular&ref=nb_sb_noss), and an R-rated movie [But I’m a Cheerleader](https://www.amazon.com/But-Im-Cheerleader-Natasha-Lyonne/dp/B00009MEB8) (“A comedy of sexual disorientation”). I even found a couple of children’s book titles beginning with "but:" *[But It’s Not My Fault](https://www.amazon.com/But-Its-Not-Fault-Responsible/dp/1934490806)* and [*But No Elephants*](https://www.amazon.com/But-Elephants-Jerry-Smath-1980-08-03/dp/B01FIYWWHQ). I could not, however, locate a serious book of nonfiction with a title beginning with "but." If you find one, please let me know.

**Postscript:** In 2017, several years after this piece was first published, tennis great John McEnroe borrowed Phil Collins’ album title for his book, *[But Seriously](https://www.amazon.com/But-Seriously-John-McEnroe/dp/0316410640/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1566329826&sr=1-1)*. And so now another frontier has been crossed.

[*Otto Stockmeyer*](https://www.cooley.edu/faculty/norman-stockmeyer)* is a Distinguished Professor Emeritus at Cooley Law School. This blog post is a reprise of the author’s column in a past issue of [The Scrivener](https://docs.wixstatic.com/ugd/3eec74_c163a3e1bdab4abb906fd49687180494.pdf), a newsletter published by [Scribes – The American Society of Legal Writers](https://www.scribes.org/). Professor Stockmeyer is a past president of the Society. His previous blog posts are cataloged [here](https://cooley.edu/blog/author/otto-stockmeyer).*

* *

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