Here's why:
* "Et" is a coordinating conjunction. It connects words or phrases of equal grammatical rank. It's primarily used to join elements within a sentence, not to initiate one.
* French sentence structure typically follows a subject-verb-object order. Starting with "et" disrupts this natural flow.
However, there are a few exceptions:
* Literary and poetic license: Writers sometimes break grammatical rules for artistic effect. You might encounter "et" at the beginning of a sentence in literary works.
* Informal speech: In casual conversation, people may use "et" at the start of a sentence, especially when emphasizing a point or adding on to a previous thought.
In most cases, it's best to avoid starting a French sentence with "et" unless you're deliberately aiming for a specific stylistic effect.