This post first appeared on LinkedIn in 2022 and has been lightly edited for this site.
Style manuals are sometimes at odds when it comes to usage, but there is a surprising amount of agreement on some matters. Using and in different contexts is one topic where there is a considerable amount of agreement, even if there are some differences in the details. And this is what I will explore today. After reading, you will be able to settle some disagreements you may have with your colleagues when it comes to using and.
And to Start a Sentence
“You cannot start a sentence with and.” Balderdash! This is not at all true. I have no idea where, when, why, or how this myth got started, but I do remember my teacher telling me that I should never start a sentence with and. (And curiously enough, she was also the person who introduced me to the word balderdash, because my dog didn’t really eat my homework that day.) The Chicago Manual of Style (2017, 289), Fowler and Burchfield (2000, 52), Garner (2016, 48–49), Maynard-Smith (2021, 142), Walsh (2000, 102), and many others support the idea that we can indeed start a sentence with and. And that is something we can all take comfort in. (Notice how I also ended that last sentence with a preposition, another myth to discuss on another day.)
And &
In sum, don’t use the ampersand (&) in body text except in special circumstances. A special circumstance is something like the official name of a company or organization that includes the ampersand (Chicago 2017, 373, 382, 576; Fowler and Burchfield 2000, 49–50; Maynard-Smith 2021, 132; New Hart’s Rules 2014, 177; Sabin 2011, 192, 447; Walsh 2000, 101). All the stated references agree that a space should come before and after the ampersand, as in Standard & Poor’s Register and Legal & General. However, with initialisms like AT&T and M&G, there is no space either before or after the symbol.
American Psychological Association (2020, 37, 266) tells us that the ampersand is okay in running heads to help reduce character count and in citations, but Chicago (2017, 816) and Sabin (2011, 574) disagree with using it in citations except with the official title of a publication or the name of a publisher, Hartley & Marks for example. An important note is that Chicago indicates that either and or & can be used in a publisher’s name, regardless of how it appears on the imprint or title page, but cautions that consistency is key in the bibliography. Adding a comma with an ampersand is a no-no. So, when referring to Dewey, Cheatem & Howe, the famous fictitious law firm, don’t add the comma before the ampersand.
A bit of trivia if interested: Fowler and Burchfield (2000, 49–50) tell us the origins of the term ampersand, “In origin it is a 19c. corruption of ‘and per se and’…[It] seems to be a stylized version of L et, [meaning] ‘and’.” French (2018, 201) supports this by telling us that the & symbol comes from combining the letters e and t. With today’s cheap preinstalled typefaces, it may be hard to see the origins, but several professional typefaces have stylized glyphs that illustrate the origins more clearly (Fonts with the Best Ampersands).
And, an Infinitive?
Should we try to deal with this topic or try and deal with this topic? The old nugget of using and in place of to with an infinitive verb. Grammar curmudgeons like me scoff at the idea of even considering such blasphemy. However, I will admit that it is common enough colloquially while speaking to try and do something, but it is a bad idea to try to do so in writing. Sabin (2011, 402), Walsh (2000, 218), and others support the recommendation of not using try and, especially in written work, even if it has been becoming more frequent recently (Google Books Ngram Viewer: try and).
I’m sure that someone out there will be a touch haughty with reactions to the recommendation because the usage of try and can be traced back to the sixteenth century. That is all well and good, and it can stay in the sixteenth century for all I care. When writing today for personal or professional reasons, avoid try and because it will come off as ignorant and could sully your standing as a professional. Surely, you can try to do that to save face and your reputation.
And Also, a Double Dirty Deed
Using and also does not technically violate any rules. However, it is often overused and misused. I honestly die a little inside each time I hear it and see it. The usage of and also has been decreasing in written work (Google Books Ngram Viewer: and also), which is good. At the same time, the frequency with which the collocation pops up in newscasts and podcasts seems to be increasing, and it is jarring to my ears. Why do we do this when it isn’t needed? Is the redundancy not obvious enough? How we ended up here is a curiosity.
It could be argued that combining disparate ideas with a conjunction and adverb—in this case and and also, respectively—may work rhetorically to emphasize a contrast between ideas. However, are these sentences really different enough to justify the redundancy? I think not.
These cultural practices preserve ancient traditions and provide income for the community.
These cultural practices preserve ancient traditions and also provide income for the community.
However, the following excerpt from The Economist Style Guide (2018, 55) shows an instance where it actually works to a certain extent.
free is an adjective or an adverb (and also a transitive verb), so you cannot have or do anything for free. Either you have it free or you have it for nothing. Resist to the death the increasingly common (mis-)usage.
As an aside, resisting to the death seems a bit extreme, even for someone like me—resisting to third- or fourth-degree torture, maybe, but death… hmm, not sure.
Anyway, I may be alone with my disdain for and also. And while there is a decline in it in written work, can we try a bit harder to reduce it when speaking? Ears are delicate.
And a Conclusion
And now we come to the end. Yes, there are many things to try to (not try and) absorb. And also usually makes me cringe, but no one has established prescriptive rules to apply, which is either a pity or me being petty. Maybe a petty pity party is in order, which, you have to admit, is fun to say. I hope something here was of use. Check out the references for additional reading.
References
American Psychological Association. 2020. Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association. 7th ed. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
The Chicago Manual of Style. 2017. 17th ed. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
The Economist Style Guide. 2018. 12th ed. London: Profile Books.
Fowler, H. W., and R. W. Burchfield. 2000. The New Fowler’s Modern English Usage. 3rd ed. New York: Oxford University Press.
French, Nigel. 2018. InDesign Type: Professional Typography with Adobe InDesign. 4th ed. Hoboken, NJ: Adobe Press.
Garner, Bryan A. 2016. Garner’s Modern English Usage. 4th ed. New York: Oxford University Press.
Maynard-Smith, Julian. 2021. Ultimate Guide to Business Writing: All the Secrets of Creating and Managing Business Documents. Abingdon: Routledge.
New Hart’s Rules: The Oxford Style Guide. 2014. 2nd ed. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Sabin, William A. 2011. The Gregg Reference Manual: A Manual of Style, Grammar, Usage, and Formatting. 11th ed., tribute ed. New York: McGraw-Hill.
Walsh, Bill. 2000. Lapsing into a Comma: A Curmudgeon’s Guide to the Many Things That Can Go Wrong in Print—and How to Avoid Them. New York: McGraw-Hill.