Can You Start a Sentence with 'However'? | Merriam-Webster

Many believe you cannot start a sentence with 'however.' However, that is not necessarily true (see we just did). Read on for the correct usage of 'however. Login SignUp Hello, Games&Quizzes Thesaurus WordoftheDay Features BuyingGuide M-WBooks MyWordsMyWords ViewRecents Account LogOut UsageNotes Canyoustartasentencewith'however'? Orisitavulgarism? WhattoKnow Youareallowedtostartasentencewith'however.'Manyusagesguideshavetriedtorestricttheusageof"however,"suggestingitcannotstartasentence,beusedwith"but,"orreplace"nevertheless,"butnoneoftheseguidescanagreeandthereisamplehistoricalevidenceof"however"beingusedatthestartofasentence. Somepeoplestridethroughourlanguage,wearingheavybootsofconfidenceandarmedwithacertaintythattheyhaveacommandinggraspoftherulesandregulationsoftheEnglishtonguewhichissufficientenoughthattheyneverworryaboutthingssuchaswhethertheyshouldusethatorwhich.Andthentherearetherestofus,stumblingaboutandcarryingwithusadimandperpetualsenseofworrythateverylinguisticchoicewemake,nomatterhowinnocuousitmightseem,isfraughtwithperil.However….actually,beforeaddressingthissenseofworry,let’slookatthefirstwordofthissentence,whichisthesortofthingthatmakesusfret. Whatcouldpossiblybewrongwithusinghowever?So,somuch. Usageexpertshavebeenadvisingpeoplenottobeginsentenceswith'however'foratleastahundredyears.However,manyfamouswriters—includingJaneAustenandCharlotteBrontë—haveusedthewordthisway. However.Buryitbetweencommas,orreplaceitwithbutornevertheless.—SheridanBaker,TheCompleteStylist,1966 Butitsuseforhowandeveras,“Howevercouldhedoit?”shouldbeavoidedasavulgarism;whileitsemploymentinthesenseof“atanyrate;atall”…isprovincialandarchaic.—FrankVizetelly,ADesk-BookofErrorsinEnglish,1920 Avoidstartingasentencewithhoweverwhenthemeaningis“nevertheless.”—WilliamStrunkJr.&E.B.White,TheElementsofStyle,1959 IsThereaRuleAgainst"However"? Incasethereisnotenoughtheretomakeyoupauseeverytimeyouusehoweverinthefuture,there’smore:inhis1926ADictionaryofModernEnglishUsage,H.W.Fowlerhelpfullyarrangeshisquibblesabouttheuseofhoweverintofourmaincategories,addressingtheissuesofwhenhowevercomestooearlyinasentence,toolate,andwhetherornotbuthoweverisredundant(spoileralert:hethinksitis). Wearenotcertainwhentherestrictionsonhoweverbegan,althoughanarticleintheChicagoDailyTribunefrom1920includesaparentheticalstatementof“apuristtellsusthatoneshouldneverbeginasentencewithhowever,”soithasapparentlybeenaroundforacenturyormore. Themainthingabouthoweverthatmanypeopleseemtorememberisthattherewassomesortofissuewithputtingitatthebeginningofasentence.Oftenthisissimplyphrasedas“donotbeginsentenceswithhowever,”andothertimestheprohibitionisslightlymorenuanced(aswasthepositionofStrunk&White),specifyingthathowevershouldnotbeginasentencewhenthemeaningis“nevertheless,”“yet,”or“but.” "However"attheStartofaSentence Thisisastylisticchoice,morethananythingelse,aswehaveaconsiderablebodyofevidenceofwritersusinghowevertobeginsentences,frequentlywiththemeaningof“nevertheless.” “However,IamsureJamesdoesnotdrinksomuch."—JaneAusten,NorthangerAbbey,1818 However,hestillpersistedinhiscareofhim,andmadehimanofferofhisHorsetocarryhimtothenextTown,wherehemighthaveConveniencesfordryinghisClothes,andgettingsomeinwardRefreshment.—MaryDavys,TheCousins,1725 Oh,there is noaccountingforthecapriceofwomen. However,IwastalkingaboutMissMoore.—CharlotteBrontë,TheDukeofZamorna,1838 However,asaSpectatorIgain’dAdmittance,andwiththerestentreddirectlyintotheTemple.—SilenceDogood(BenjaminFranklin),LettertoTheNew-EnglandCourant,14May,1722 Althoughtherehavebeenmanyrestrictionsproposedforhowhoweverisused,therehasneverbeenanystrongagreementonthem,andsomehowweallappeartohavemuddledourwaythroughcommunicatingwitheachotherusingthisword.Howevermaybeusedtobeginasentence,itcanbeusedinconjunctionwithbut,andyoucanplaceitprettymuchanywhereyouwantinasentence,solongasyoudosowithcare. Sopullonyourbootsofconfidenceandstopworryingaboutusinghowever.Therearebetterthingsinlifeonwhichtospendyourtime. Share MoreWordsAtPlay Merriam-Webster'sWordsoftheWeek-Oct.29 Fromtheweekending10/29/2021 TryNottoSlipon'Peel'and'Peal' Eyesarepeeled;thepealsareoflaughter 'Everyday'vs.'EveryDay' Asimpletricktokeepthemseparate TimeTraveler Checkoutwordsfromtheyearyouwerebornandmore! TRENDINGNOW Sardoodledom ScrippsBeeclipgoesviral meta Facebookannouncesnewname mandate Bidenrollsoutvaccinationeffort SEEALL SubscribetoAmerica'slargestdictionaryandgetthousandsmoredefinitionsandadvancedsearch—adfree! Merriam-Websterunabridged AsktheEditors 'Everyday'vs.'EveryDay' Asimpletricktokeepthemseparate WhatIs'SemanticBleaching'? How'literally'canmean"figuratively" Literally Howtouseawordthat(literally)drivessomepe... IsSingular'They'aBetterChoice? Theawkwardcaseof'hisorher' WordGames AdvancedVocabularyQuiz Toughwordsandtoughercompetition. Takethequiz NaughtyorNice Aquizofvicesandvirtues Takethequiz SpellIt Canyouspellthese10commonlymisspelledwords? Takethequiz