grammaticality - Can a sentence start with "Because"?


In my grade school days, I recall a teacher proclaiming to the class:



You should never start a sentence with the word "Because".



Of course, I've since seen lots of examples to the contrary, and done so my self that seem to be perfectly correct, grammatically.


Did she shorten some other rule that allows for specific exceptions?
Did she just make it up because writing sentences starting with because is a little tricky for young and inexperienced minds?
Is there some other reason?



Answer



It is appropriate when you have simply flipped the clauses:



I stayed inside because it was raining.


Because it was raining, I stayed inside.



What the teacher was trying to teach was that a a subordinate clause is not a complete sentence:



I stayed inside.



This is a complete sentence.



Because it was raining.



This is not; the conjunction because makes it subordinate and therefore, it requires an associated independent clause.


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