The period will start in 15 minutes. vs I can barely remember the beginning of the period. Start has the sense of being a fixed point in time, while beginning could possibly refer to any time between the start and the halfway point.
0 To me, "In the beginning" indicates a single point in time, whereas "From the beginning" inticates something on-going. God's creation, therefore, may be viewed either way - a one-time event or an un-ending event. Do the words in Latin, Greek. Hebrew, (or an earlier language), indicate which phrase is the more intended?
But to "start" marks the actual/exact time of launching an activity (to understand more clearly, consider these two examples: This is just the beginning [meaning, all the initial period] .
11 I think from the beginning puts a little more emphasis and focus on the significance of the beginning. If you were talking about a business, perhaps "he" was there in the planning process and integral to starting the business. Since the beginning places more emphasis on the intervening time period.
For a while, using but to start a sentence was largely frowned upon. But, I think it is possible to use but at the beginning of a sentence, as long as it isn't overused. Am I right?
The beginning of the century is a period of time which is short compared to the century but rather long otherwise; Some people may use this phrase to mean the first decade or even longer. I might say "At the beginning of the 20th Century women generally couldn't vote but by the end of World War II many nations had granted them this right".
In the end, it was a good play. Yes, "At the beginning" can be used without "of". "At" is appropriate when there is a more specific reference point in time. "In" is less specific. Here is a biblical reference where the specific point in time is not relevant or known: In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
What is the nature of the items being enumerated with these words? What determines the order: is it chronology, a logical argument, a ranking in order of importance? How long is the description of each of them in the paper? All of these affect how you might introduce each point. I don't necessarily read "Then" and "Next" as informal.
The way you handle numbers at the beginning of sentences remains a style decision, but the style guides I consulted showed a remarkable degree of unanimity in favoring spelling out the number in that situation. The only dissenter on this point is the AP Stylebook, which recommends spelling years with numerals even at the beginning of a sentence.
