RE: use of "however"

[bryan -dot- westbrook -at- amd -dot- com]

I had always been taught that it is incorrect to begin a sentence with
"but".  But in college, one of the professors told us that it is not a real
rule, just someone's preference that has been misrepresented for years as a
rule.

This does, however, raise the question of what truly constitutes a rule in a
living language.  Grammatical rules were originally based upon common usage
and evolve as the culture that created them does.

When does a grammar practice become a rule?  If everybody believes that a
preference is a rule and follows it  (at least those who care about such
things and take the time to bother) does that not make it a rule?  Or is the
final determination made by those who write style guides and textbooks?  

Anyway, the generally accepted usage (which may or may not be an official
rule) is that "however" should not begin a sentence.


> -----Original Message-----
> From:	Mike [SMTP:techmail_mike -at- yahoo -dot- com]
> Sent:	Thursday, November 30, 2000 11:31 AM
> To:	TECHWR-L
> Subject:	use of "however"
> 
> Someone who edited one of my documents recently told
> me that it is inproper usage to begin a sentence with
> the word "However."
> 


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