Learn English – Can “hence” be used at the beginning of a sentence

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Can the word ‘hence’ be used at the beginning of a sentence? For example:

Hence, I am not feeling well, I am unable to work.

Best Answer

You can use hence at the beginning of a sentence, but not like that. Because it means "therefore", it needs to come after the cause. If you want a conjunction that can come before the cause, use since.

Since I am not feeling well, I am unable to work.

I am not feeling well, hence I am unable to work.

I am not feeling well; therefore, I am unable to work.

I am not feeling well. Hence, I am unable to work.

I am unable to work since I am not feeling well.

Like Neil Coffey said, hence can sound a bit formal. (I wouldn't say it's very formal, just a bit more formal than, say, since.) I think the most natural-sounding way to tell your boss you're sick would be something like:

I'm not feeling well, so I can't come in today.

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