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"And" can be used sparingly in exactly the same way that "it" and "yes" and "up" and "the" and "how" can be used sparingly. Which is not at all. There are words that are full of evocative power (pa...
Answer
#2: Post edited
by
Mark Baker
·
2020-01-21T05:36:44Z (almost 5 years ago)
typos
"And" can be used sparingly in exactly the same way that "it" and "yes" and "up" and "the" and "how" can be used sparingly. Which is not at all. There are words that are full of evocative power (particularly when used in the right combination) and there are words that are just the glue that holds the language together, that create the conjunctions between the evocative words. These are the utility words of the language. They don't call attention to themselves. They just to the scut work of grammar, quietly and efficiently. There is no need to worry in the least about how often you are using them (though, in the case of "and" you might need to thing about whether you are needlessly creating run-on sentences). The very worst thing you could do would be to replace these humble utility words with bigger, more obtrusive words. Doing so will only detract attention from the evocative words that are supposed to be the stars of the show.
- "And" can be used sparingly in exactly the same way that "it" and "yes" and "up" and "the" and "how" can be used sparingly. Which is not at all. There are words that are full of evocative power (particularly when used in the right combination) and there are words that are just the glue that holds the language together, that create the conjunctions between the evocative words. These are the utility words of the language. They don't call attention to themselves. They just to the scut work of grammar, quietly and efficiently. There is no need to worry in the least about how often you are using them (though, in the case of "and" you might need to think about whether you are needlessly creating run-on sentences). The very worst thing you could do would be to replace these humble utility words with bigger, more obtrusive words. Doing so will only detract attention from the evocative words that are supposed to be the stars of the show.
#1: Initial revision
by
Mark Baker
·
2020-01-21T00:40:29Z (almost 5 years ago)
"And" can be used sparingly in exactly the same way that "it" and "yes" and "up" and "the" and "how" can be used sparingly. Which is not at all. There are words that are full of evocative power (particularly when used in the right combination) and there are words that are just the glue that holds the language together, that create the conjunctions between the evocative words. These are the utility words of the language. They don't call attention to themselves. They just to the scut work of grammar, quietly and efficiently. There is no need to worry in the least about how often you are using them (though, in the case of "and" you might need to thing about whether you are needlessly creating run-on sentences). The very worst thing you could do would be to replace these humble utility words with bigger, more obtrusive words. Doing so will only detract attention from the evocative words that are supposed to be the stars of the show.