Can you begin a sentence with although

“Although” is a great way to start a sentence, but it seems that some people believe it’s not possible. This article will teach you how starting a sentence with although works and how you can be comfortable doing it yourself.

You can start a sentence with “although” when it’s part of the first dependent clause in the sentence. We use it synonymously with words like “though” and “but,” where something happens despite something else in a sentence. It’s common also to see it in the middle.

To help you understand a little more about it, you can refer to this example:

• Although he didn’t want to go to the park, he still had a good time there.

“Although” works well to talk about a contradicting piece of information.

It’s important to remember that it’s part of a dependent clause. This means that it “depends” on another clause in a sentence because it would be incorrect on its own. Without the second clause, “although” can never start a sentence.

What Does “Although” Mean At The Beginning Of A Sentence?

At the beginning of a sentence, “although” means despite other information, something contradictory happens. We use it as part of a dependent clause to talk about how two things seem to contradict or counter each other in some way.

As we’ve mentioned, the dependent clause portion of “although” is what’s most important here. For example:

• Although he wasn’t meant to be there.

The above sentence is incomplete and, therefore, incorrect. We can’t just use a dependent clause like this without any further information. Instead, we should write something like this:

• Although he wasn’t meant to be there, he couldn’t help but show up.

The two clauses are important. We’ll get to why that’s the case and how the punctuation works a little later.

Examples Of How To Use “Although” At The Beginning Of A Sentence

We think it’s time to share some examples with you. That way, you’ll have a much better understanding of how “although” can start a sentence correctly.

1. Although she didn’t like him very much, they still went on a date and got to know each other.
2. Although there wasn’t much food left in the fridge, we made do with what little we had left.
3. Although I couldn’t find the right way through the maze, I still managed to find areas that had not been explored.
4. Although there was nothing more to do there, they made the most of their time.
5. Although you are the smartest person in this class, you still failed the exam, which shows that no one is above revising!
6. Although you think you’re attractive, I can assure you that nobody is into your personality.
7. Although there isn’t anything left to offer you, you can take my advice with you before you go.

“Although” works well to introduce a counterpoint or contradiction as part of a dependent clause. We do this by adding the independent clause after the sentence with “although” in it, which works well to introduce two varying points.

Where Should I Place The Comma When Using “Although” At The Beginning Of A Sentence?

Punctuation rules are fairly simple when you know what you’re looking for. We’ll show you how to punctuate “although” correctly when used at the beginning of the sentence because the rules are different from when it’s used in the middle.

You should place a comma after the dependent clause has finished. There should always be a comma present to break up the dependent clause from the independent clause. However, there is no need to place a comma directly after “although.”

To show you how this works, you can look at the following two examples:

• Correct: Although I didn’t want to see you today, I still had a lot of fun talking to you.
• Incorrect: Although there wasn’t much left of the shipwreck I thought it was incredibly interesting to explore.

As you can see, the comma is vital when trying to split up the two clauses. Without it, the sentence won’t have a break in it, which will make it harder for readers to understand what is going on.

Alternatives To Starting A Sentence With “Although”

“Although” isn’t the only word we can use to start a sentence in the same way. When introducing two contradicting ideas or arguments, you might find some use from the following synonyms:

• Though
• Even though
• Despite
• In spite of the fact that
• Despite the fact that
• Notwithstanding that
• Even if
• For all that
• But

Most of these synonyms work well to start a sentence in place of “although.” We still need to split the dependent clause from the independent clause when writing in this way, though.

Can You End A Sentence With “Although”?

There are no rules in English that specifically tell us that certain words can or cannot start a sentence. However, there is a clear rule associated with style and necessity. If a word does not belong in a certain part of a sentence, we can never use it there.

“Although” is one such word. It’s a conjunction, meaning that it works really well to connect two sentences together. However, we can only connect two sentences together by starting a new sentence with it or by introducing two clauses with it.

There are no cases where we can end a sentence with “although.” In doing so, we will not be able to use it to connect two sentences together, which is the only way we can use “although” correctly.

How Do You Use “Although” In The Middle Of A Sentence?

While incorrect at the end of a sentence, we can still use it in the middle.

“Although” works well in the middle of a sentence when we place the dependent clause after the independent clause.

The clauses work in the same way as we’ve mentioned above; they’re just swapped around. These examples will show you what we mean:

• He didn’t think much of it, although he saw something really bad.
• She wasn’t going to give up easy, although she knew she didn’t stand much of a chance.

You might also like:
Can You Start A Sentence With “Though”? Learn It Here! (With Examples)
Can You End A Sentence With “Though”? Learn It Here! (With Examples)
Can You Start A Sentence With “Even Though”? Learn It Here! (With Examples)
Albeit vs. Although – Difference Explained (With Examples)