starting a sentence

[Allen165]

Is it correct to start a sentence like this:

A 30 year-old French and American national, he has been living in Berlin, Germany for the last 10 years.

Thanks.

[mmasny]

I think you'd better put a hyphen between 30 and year. I've seen such sentences, so they are used. I'm not sure if you can find such a form in a grammar book, but let's hope someone will tell us.

[TheParser]

Is it correct to start a sentence like this:

A 30 year-old French and American national, he has been living in Berlin, Germany for the last 10 years.

Thanks.

***NOT A TEACHER***Good morning. I think that your sentence may either be an appositive verbless adverbial clause. If it is only an appositive, then it means something like: Tom, (who is) a 30-year-old French and American national, has been living in Berlin, Germany, for the last 10 years. In other words, an appositive just gives some extra information about Tom. In your sentence the appositive is at the beginning -- some newspapers and magazines do to emphasize the extra extra information. Of course, you would never speak this way. Or your sentence could (according to my grammar books) actually be a short way to say this: (Although he is) a 30-year-old French and American national. he has been living in Berlin, Germany, for the last 10 years (because he doesn't want to live in France or the United States for some reason). I do not know which explanation. I would have to know more about "Tom." Thank you. (P.S. In the second sentence: appositive OR verbless adverbial clause. A computer illiterate, I don't know how to edit. = Because I am a computer illiterate, I ....)

[mmasny]

I've just come across this: anacoluthon
The example seems to be exactly the case.

[Raymott]

Is it correct to start a sentence like this:

A 30 year-old French and American national, he has been living in Berlin, Germany for the last 10 years.

Thanks.

Yes, this is possible. You'd need some identification before that sentence.
Police have finally caught the notorious Potsdam Strangler. A 30 year-old French and American national, he has been living in Berlin, Germany for the last 10 years.

It's not ungrammatical, so I wouldn't call it an anacoluthon.