however
part of speech
adverb (however); conjunction (however)
meaning for a pupil
1) However means but, or in spite of that. It shows that something different or surprising comes next. tree →
2) However also means in whatever way: do it however you like. tree →
3) However also means no matter how: however hard he tried, the jar stayed shut. tree →
4) In questions, however means how (showing surprise): however did you find it? tree →
sense in the lessons
In maths: a story word that turns the story; often marks a change after the first fact, and the next part tells the action (often taking away); «however many you take» means in every case. In writing: a joining word between two ideas that differ. Phrases: however much, however many, however hard, however you like.
examples
- She had 20 sweets; however, she gave 6 away. tree →
- He planned to read 50 pages; however, he read only 30. tree →
- The shop had 10 cakes; however, 4 were sold. tree →
- However many you take, 2 will be left. tree →
- It was raining. However, we still went to the park. tree →
- However hard I try, I cannot whistle. tree →
- You can draw it however you like. tree →
- However did you get up there? tree →
- However, I will do my best. tree →
note
When it means «but», put a comma after it at the start of a sentence: However, … Signals a change is coming; read the next part for the action (often taking away). No operation by itself.
In the corpora
- Coyote never catches him, however many ACME rockets he buys.
- No speech, no song, however much the young animals bang the table — just polite talk and questions about their families.
- Pour oil into a glass of water and it sits on top in its own layer, however long you wait.
- Linking words such as "however", "because" and "as a result" show how ideas connect.
- Many crashes happen on short trips close to home, so you buckle up for every trip, however short.
Trees and pragmatics
Every meaning and example of «however» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.