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Hello!
I haven't seen that much of 'but' being used (in newspapers, magazines, etc) in the ways I quote below. I wonder: are these obsolete or would you still hear/read people using 'but' in these situations? (all examples are from Oxford Dictionary).
1) but = only: I don't think we'll manage it. Still, we can but try. There were a lot of famous people there: Lady Gaga and Hugh Jackman, to name but two.
2) but = except; apart from: We've had nothing but trouble with this car. The problem is anything but easy. Who but Rosa could think of something like that? Everyone was there but him.
3) but = without the (additional) circumstance that: There is no hope but through prayer (= There is no hope other than the hope of prayer) (this one is not clear to me).
It never rains but it pours (= It never rains without also pouring). No leaders ever existed but they were optimists (= No leaders existed who were not optimists; All leaders who ever existed were optimists).
4) but = that (used esp. after words like doubt, deny, etc., with a negative word like not): I don't doubt but you'll do it.
5) with the exception of: No one replied but me. Everyone but John was there.
Thank you!
Best,
Alla
None of those examples sound the least bit "off" to me.
Nut I have to say, it seems like most people use but to start off a sentence, and that's really bad, logically; If you're goint to conjoin two thoughts, it should be one sentence. Starting off with a conjunctive makes the second 'sentence" a sentence fragment instead of a sentence.
And don't you hatte it when someone does that? It's an insult, really, that you matter so little, they don't bother to form legitimate sentences sentences.
Alla said ... from Oxford Dictionary ... It never rains but it pours No leaders ever existed but they were optimist
Those 2 strike no bells for me at all, Oxford or no. The 2nd one would've made much more sense like this: No leaders ever existed but as optimists.
All the others above are quite common and current usages.
It never rains but it pours was a fairly common plaint about the weather yerars ago, but when Morton added an anti-cqaking additive to table salt, and put a drawing of a little girl in frock carrying an umbrella, and using that line as its trademark, it kinda ruint the original. Originally, it meant "we NEVER get a nice soft rain, we always get torrents - or no rain at all" but now it means "Morton salt doesn't cake in rainy weather." I suppose that would be OK, except I've3 seen a lot of glass salt shakers with an oyster cracker to absorb the humidity (they put a saltine in the sugar) in small-town mom-ande-pop restaurants. Never uin "just like uptown" restaurants, and much less since air conditioning has become routinie, but then, t'ain't many mom-and-pop joints any more.
Martha Barnette
Grant Barrett
Grant Barrett
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