The Difference between “but” and “however”

We use ‘but’  and ‘however’ very often in the English language to express an exception.  The two words are similar.  It is important to remember that ‘but’ is a conjunction, so it joins two sentences.  It is incorrect to begin a sentence with ‘but’.  “However” is an adverb.  You can begin a sentence with ‘however’.  When we begin a sentence with “however”, it is followed by a comma.  For example:

Thelma enjoys dancing but George doesn’t.(photo permission from flickr via jacksonpe)

George doesn’t like polka music and he doesn’t have a lot of rhythm.  However, he continues to take dance lessons to impress Thelma.

Below is more detailed information about the difference between ‘but’ and ‘however’ that I found on www.differencebetween.com.

But and However are two words in English language that have to be understood with precision so that they can be used correctly either in spoken English or written English.

The word ‘however’ is used in the sense of ‘nevertheless’. On the other hand, the word ‘but’ is used as a conjunction between two sentences. This is the main difference between the two words.

It is important to know that the word ‘but’ is used in the sense of ‘although’ as in the sentences,

1. We invited  him to the party, but he did not come.

2. She studied for the test, but she did not pass it.

In both the sentences, the word ‘but’ is used in the sense of ‘although’. You can simply rewrite the two sentences given above as ‘we invited him to the party, although he did not come’ and ‘she studied for the test, although she did not pass it’.

Take a look at the two sentences given below,

1. We were supposed to go the party last night; however, it was called off much to our surprise.

2. The tennis match, however, continued despite protests from both the teams.

In both the sentences given above, the word ‘however’ is used in the sense of ‘nevertheless’. The use of ‘however’ has a grammatical peculiarity though. It is used in between two sentences and is preceeded by a semicolon as you can see in the first sentence. Sometimes it is followed by just a comma as in the case of the second sentence given above.

On the other hand, a sentence should not begin with ‘but’ because it is generally used as a conjunction. Its duty is to connect two sentences. These are the differences between but and however.

Read more: http://www.differencebetween.com/difference-between-but-and-vs-however/#ixzz2MKhfeJCF