BUT / HOWEVER

Difference between BUT AND HOWEVER (BUT vs HOWEVER)

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.

• HOWEVER is used in the sense of "nevertheless".
• 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: "We waited for him for a long time, BUT he did not to turn up." Or "She looked after him very well, BUT he did not survive."

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 waited for him for a long time, although he did not turn up" and "she looked after him very well, although he did not survive".

Take a look at the two sentences given below: "We were supposed to go the party last night; HOWEVER, it was called off much to our surprise." or "The test 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 followed 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.