Grammar Tips & Articles »

"However" as a Sentence-Starter

This Grammar.com article is about "However" as a Sentence-Starter — enjoy your reading!


1:12 min read
13,941 Views
  Ed Good  —  Grammar Tips
Font size:

However, this is bad form.

Look at the sentences above, the ones starting with But. Imagine how awful they would sound if the writer had started them with However followed by a comma. No applause for Justice Black if he had written:

The Framers knew, better perhaps than we do today, the risks they were taking. They knew that free speech might be the friend of change and revolution. However, they also knew that it is always the deadliest enemy of tyranny. Hugo Black, The Bill of Rights, 35 N.Y.U. L. Rev. 865, 880-81 (1960).

Strunk & White urges writers to shun however at the beginning of a sentence.

Avoid starting a sentence with however when the meaning is “nevertheless.” The word usually serves better when not in first position.

Example: The roads were almost impassable. However, we at last succeeded in reaching camp.

Correction: The roads were almost impassable. At last, however, we succeeded in reaching camp.

When however comes first, it means “in whatever way” or “to whatever extent.”

Examples: However you advise him, he will probably do as he thinks best. However discouraging the prospect, he never lost heart. Strunk & White, pp. 48-49.

Strunk & White could have expanded this advice by urging the use of But as a way to start a sentence and to show contrast at its beginning.

 

Previous: Start a Sentence with a Conjunction

Next: A Word About Nor

Rate this article:

Have a discussion about this article with the community:

1 Comment
  • Chris Len
    Chris Len
    I feel as though Strunk would spin clockwise, and White counterclockwise, at the idea of starting a sentence with "but." Ugh.
    LikeReply4 years ago

Citation

Use the citation below to add this article to your bibliography:

Style:MLAChicagoAPA

""However" as a Sentence-Starter." Grammar.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 5 Dec. 2024. <https://www.grammar.com/however-as-a-sentence-starter>.

Free, no signup required:

Add to Chrome

Check your text and writing for style, spelling and grammar problems everywhere on the web!

Free, no signup required:

Add to Firefox

Check your text and writing for style, spelling and grammar problems everywhere on the web!

Free Writing Tool:

Instant
Grammar Checker

Improve your grammar, vocabulary, style, and writing — all for FREE!


Quiz

Are you a grammar master?

»
Identify the sentence with correct use of the comparative adverbs:
A They reached the destination sooner than us.
B She speaks English more fluently than him.
C She sings more beautifully than anyone in the choir.
D He finished the race more quicker than the other athletes.

Improve your writing now:

Download Grammar eBooks

It’s now more important than ever to develop a powerful writing style. After all, most communication takes place in reports, emails, and instant messages.