<ol>
<li><p>Is it alright to start a sentence with "And". I know it's not proper, but it really does seem to flow in my essay. FYI, the sentences go "I knew then that he gave me the treasure, the treasure which can XXX, XXX, and XXX. And I thank him for that. " If this does not work, can anybody think of an alternative? I am kind of brain dead right now :(</p></li>
<li><p>If I am talking about a past event that happened. Then during that past event, I flash back to an even older past event (which I have to talk about for 3 paragraphs). Should I just use past perfect for the first 2 sentences then revert to simple past? Or does it have to be past perfect all the way - sounds a bit weird to my ears though</p></li>
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<p>I wouldn’t use and to start the sentence you posted. There are many ways to avoid it, one would be to add to the sentence, i.e. “I thank him for that and . . .”</p>
<p>People who study the actual usage of America’s best writers know that starting a sentence with the word “and” is not only common but, in many cases, rhetorically useful.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, the world is full of people who consider the “rules” more important than the habits of actual writers, and you never know where these annoying people will pop up.</p>
<p>Until you have reached a certain level of authority in your life, I’d advise you not to start a sentence with “and.” Not because it is wrong to do so, but because you run the risk of being judged by morons in power.</p>
<p>For my second question, I am talking about myself watching a show, then flashbacking to that morning, when I met one of the performers. during that meeting, do I need to use past perfect the whole way, past perfect then simple past, or just simple past the whole way?</p>
<p>Can you write the part about watching a show in present tense, and then switch to simple past for the flashback? Present tense for past events is sort of cutesy in some cases, so you might want to avoid it, but it’s something to think about.</p>
<p>I agree with WW that starting a sentence with “and” could work in the right situation. Just because you can start a sentence with the word “and” though doesn’t mean you should. In this particular case there are better options and I suggest you find one. If you don’t, even non-morons on the admissions committee may judge you.</p>
<p>I would not describe it as grammatically correct. I would describe it as stylistically preferable.</p>
<p>I’ll add that if you can find a way to avoid the set-up, do so. I mean, is it really necessary to be in the recent past for just a few sentences, and then jump further into the past for two paragraphs? Is there a way you could go directly to the more distant past, so that using the simple past tense actually would be correct?</p>
<p>It doesn’t seem to sound as smooth if I change it to simple past immediately because the time difference between those two events are just a few hours</p>