User:Batard0/Notes on language

What follows are a few language and grammar problems (and the solutions thereto) that I often find cropping up on Wikipedia.

However versus But

 * But is usually used to draw a contrast between adjacent phrases in the same sentence.
 * However is usually used to strike a contrast with ideas in the previous sentence or sentences.

Consider the following:

Both of these are fine. Example 1 is arguably better because it is slightly shorter and conveys the same thing. If the part about going to the store were more lengthy, breaking the ideas into two sentences and using however instead of but may be preferable. For example:

You can use but in the Example 3 construction above, but it reads more awkwardly:

However is especially preferable when the difference between the ideas expressed is large or there is a significant temporal shift.

Using but in Example 5 is grammatically correct, but however is preferable. Splitting the ideas and creating a second sentence prepares the reader for something new and different; keeping them in the same sentence does not.

To a certain degree, when to use but or however is a question of judgment and common sense. There are no hard and fast rules that apply to constructions like those in Example 4 and Example 6. Both are grammatically correct, but you may be able to find more felicitous alternatives. There is at least one case, however, where however should never be used: to contrast ideas within a single sentence after a comma.

While it is technically ok to begin a sentence with but, this should be avoided because it tends to come off as conversational, not encyclopedic. This also violates the custom of using but to separate contrasting ideas within a single sentence.

Also note that you can use however within a single sentence in cases where a semicolon separates the contrasting ideas. The semicolon is sufficient to separate two ideas enough for however to work. A mere comma is not enough, however.

A word on ambiguity
Apart from the reasons discussed above, however should be handled carefully because of the ambiguity that its use can give rise to. While however is most often used as a marker of rhetorical contrast, it can also function as a synonym for "no matter how", as in:

This in itself is a good reason not to use however as a contrastive device within a single sentence. The reader of the sentence in Example 10 will normally interpret however as a synonym of "no matter how" on first reading, and its use as a contrast word forces him to re-read the sentence or at least give it some thought before he fully understands the intent. Because of the ambiguity issue, it is also normally not advisable to start sentences with a contrastive however. Consider:

However is clearly being used as a synonym for "no matter how" in Example 11 and as a contrastive element in Example 12. When the reader arrives at the first word of each sentence, however, is it obvious which meaning is intended? It is ambiguous. And hence it is to be recommended to reserve an initial however for the "no matter how" meaning, since the contrastive meaning can be just as easily employed later in the sentence.

Compound adjectives and hyphenation
Compound adjectives take hyphens. Consider:

Two-time here is an adjective that modifies champions. Since two-time is a single grammatical unit, it should normally be hyphenated. American custom is somewhat lenient on this rule, allowing for occasional variation. (British custom is more strict.) As a general practice, however, hyphenating compound adjectives is to be recommended. In cases where the lack of a hyphen could produce ambiguities, it is absolutely essential. Consider the following shamelessly stolen examples:

Example 3 means a device that detects heavy metals. Example 4 describes a heavy metal-detecting device. These are two different things.

When a compound adjective consists of multiple words, all of the junctions between them should be hyphens. For example:

One thing to watch: when an adverb modifies an adjective preceding a verb, no hyphen is necessary or expected. This is not a compound adjective; it is an adverb-adjective combination.