Can I start a sentence with “Whereas”?

Question

The sentence is supposed to be contradicting a previous situation explained thoroughly in the precedent paragraph. The contradiction is on the same subject (in the past/now). Can the sentence be something like "Whereas now ........."?

Would "Now ......" be enough?

Answer 1

I'd like to direct you to the Wikipedia article on conjunctions:

Many students are taught that certain conjunctions (such as "and", "but", and "so") should not begin sentences, although authorities such as the Chicago Manual of Style state that this teaching has "no historical or grammatical foundation"

Answer 2

There's a variety of myths about starting sentences with conjunctions. The best explanation I've heard from these myths is that they started with prohibitions from English teachers to stop pupils writing entire pieces where every sentence did so ("And then I went to the park. And then my friend came and we played together. And then we went home. And then I had my dinner.") that was taken to be an actual rule. It's not.

Would "Now ......" be enough?

Well, it might. Depending on the rest of the sentence, this might not only be acceptable, but also make for a stronger sentence - whereas can be a rather weak word sometimes. If the opposition of past and present is clear, then I would certainly consider starting just with Now.

Both would be correct though, so it's not a matter of the "right" choice, but of the strongest.

Answer 3

Whereas has two distinct uses. In legal contexts, it means 'in view or consideration of the fact that'. It has been so used to begin a sentence since at least the fifteenth century:

Where as þe seyd William Paston, by assignement and commaundement of þe seyd Duk of Norffolk..was þe styward of þe seyd Duc of Norffolk.

Its more common use is as a comparative or contrastive conjunction. What others have said about starting a sentence with conjunctions such as but and and is quite right. Doing so is a normal part of a writer’s repertoire, and there should really be no need to discuss it further. Whereas is a little different, because its meaning makes it an unlikely sentence opener. A sentence such as She went on to become an architect, whereas I did history would not normally be split in two to become She went on to become an architect. Whereas I did history. But if a writer thinks that will achieve an intended communicative purpose in a given context, then there is absolutely no reason not to do so.