Here is a rhetorical legend you should disregard: Do not begin a sentence with a verb. I have no idea where this stuff comes from, but you can begin a sentence with anything that you, and especially your readers, understand—and appreciate stylistically.
You should not have a problem with beginning sentences with verbs. In fact, you were taught to do just that in the third grade when writing imperative sentences like these:
- Call me tomorrow.
- Display your photo ID.
- Send your check to the address below.
Now I can hear the grammar cops saying, well, the you is understood in imperative sentences, so you're really beginning those sentences not with a verb but with the pronoun you.
Don't be ridiculous.
To avoid beginning a sentence with a verb (as I've done in this sentence with the infinitive to avoid), the grammar cops will tell us to precede a verb phrase with a prepositional phrase, as in: In order to ensure a secure workplace, we request that you display your photo ID. But conciseness requires us to eliminate those first two words: To ensure a secure workplace, we request that you display your photo ID.
To write well, use all the sentence beginnings that feel right! Got it?
Part 11: Placing Interjections
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Read previous posts in this series:
Part 10: Placing ConjunctionsPart 11: Placing Interjections
