Writing Tools: “And” ensnares many skilled authors with its simple charms

Conjunctions, as grammarians define, may be regarded as the simplest of connectives, merely conjoining or joining together words, phrases or sentences.

They may appear very simple. Yet, using them properly requires years of hard work.

The most popular, yet the most difficult conjunction is “and.” It connects similar parts of speech, similar cases in nouns and pronouns, and similar numbers, persons, tenses and moods in verbs.

Here is an example of how the Daily Telegraph misused it.

The diverting character of the State Secretary’s woeful and otherwise ballads deserves a wider fame than it has secured for them as yet. (italics)

There should have been an adjective like remarkable or fine after otherwise.

My master and his man both broke loose – W. Shakespeare (italics)

The present holders of power are evil men, and the present manner of life is doomed – B. Russell (italics)

Both Shakespeare and Russell aptly used it. “My” is a possessive adjective and “master” is a noun. Similarly, “his” is a possessive adjective and “man” is a noun. Both phrases are rightly connected with each other by and. Russell, too, used the connective in the same way as Shakespeare did.

Nevertheless, a national daily published from New Delhi, India, could not do justice to And.

A rise in rents and wages has been found to go together (italics).

The newspaper should have written: A rise in rents and a rise in wages have been found to go together.

Repeating “and” beautifies a sentence

When two or more items are connected in an enumeration “and” is commonly omitted except before the last of the series: as, he was brave, valiant, and noble. The writer has correctly blended comma with and.

The conjunction may be repeated between every two items of an enumeration.

The evening air was pale and chilly and after every charge and thud of the footballers the greasy leather orb flew like a heavy bird through the grey light – A Portrait of the Artist, James Joyce.(italics)

Nonetheless, using it this way should not be a habit.

Resultant “and”

“And” sometimes adds a fact or statement which is viewed as the result of what has gone before. This is called resultant “and”.

You bear a gentle mind, and heavenly blessings

Follow such creatures – W. Shakespeare (italics)

Similarly, there are some future indications in the union of two verbs, especially after go, come, send and try. A few grammarians are opposed to this usage as equivalent to future or “to.”

For example, try and find it. Go and get it.(italics)

If we say, try to find it. There is an instant loss of force in the sentence, as it refers only to a purpose which is an antecedent to the trying. It may never be fulfilled. On the other hand, “try and find it” contemplates the finding as the sure result of the trying. It is an accomplished fact.

Such usage is sustained by the highest authority. When we come to balance the expressions, we find it logical to linguistic thought.

Adversative “and”

We know “but and “though” are the adversative conjunctions. Yet, and, properly used in a sentence, brings out a fine contrast.

It is one thing to entertain, and another to be entertaining – C D Warner, Little Journey in the World.

God made the country, and man made the town – Cowper, The Task.(italics).

“And,” though a coordinating conjunction, adds the effect of the adversative “but” to both sentences.

“And” at the beginning of a sentence

It is legitimate as well as effective to begin a sentence or a paragraph with and but the habit should not be part of mannerism.

And yet he wanted to be one of those ants, that was the paradox of it. – Salman Rushdie, Quichotte, page 101.(italics)

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