but
- but
used negatively after a pronoun presents a problem that has confounded careful users for generations. Do you say, "Everyone but him had arrived" or "Everyone but he had arrived"? The authorities themselves are divided.
Some regard but as a preposition and put the pronoun in the accusative - i.e., me, her, him, or them. So just as we say, "Give it to her" or "between you and me," we should say, "Everyone but him had arrived."
Others argue that but is a conjunction and that the pronoun should be nominative (I, she, he, or they), as if the sentence was saying, "Everyone had arrived, but he had not."
The answer perhaps is to regard but sometimes as a conjunction and sometimes as a preposition. Two rough rules should help.
1. If the pronoun appears at the end of the sentence, you can always use the accusative and be on firm ground. Thus, "Nobody knew but her"; "Everyone had eaten but him."
2. When the pronoun appears earlier in the sentence, it is almost always better to put it in the nominative, as in "No one but he had seen it." The one exception is when the pronoun is influenced by a preceding preposition, but such constructions are relatively rare and often clumsy. Two examples might be "Between no one but them was there any bitterness" and "To everyone but him life was a mystery." See also than (3).
Bryson’s dictionary for writers and editors.
2013.
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Look at other dictionaries:
but — but … Dictionnaire des rimes
but — [ by(t) ] n. m. • 1245; probablt frq. °but « souche, billot » 1 ♦ Point visé, objectif. ⇒ 2. blanc, cible. Viser le but. Atteindre, toucher le but (cf. Faire mouche, mettre dans le mille). Manquer le but. Spécialt (Boules) Cochonnet. Pointer une… … Encyclopédie Universelle
but — 1. general. But is a preposition and conjunction, and is used contrastively: (preposition) Everyone seems to know but me / (conjunction) Everyone seems to know but I don t. In more modern usage, as the OED and Fowler (1926) have both recognized,… … Modern English usage
But — (b[u^]t), prep., adv. & conj. [OE. bute, buten, AS. b[=u]tan, without, on the outside, except, besides; pref. be + [=u]tan outward, without, fr. [=u]t out. Primarily, b[=u]tan, as well as [=u]t, is an adverb. [root]198. See {By}, {Out}; cf.… … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
But if — But But (b[u^]t), prep., adv. & conj. [OE. bute, buten, AS. b[=u]tan, without, on the outside, except, besides; pref. be + [=u]tan outward, without, fr. [=u]t out. Primarily, b[=u]tan, as well as [=u]t, is an adverb. [root]198. See {By}, {Out};… … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
but — but·ler; but·ler·age; but·ler·ite; but·lery; but·ter·bump; but·ter·bur; but·ter·i·ness; but·ter·is; but·ter·less; but·ter·man; but·tle; but·ton·er; but·ton·less; but·tony; but·tress·less; but·ty; hack·but; hack·but·eer; hal·i·but; hal·i·but·er;… … English syllables
but — BUT. s. m. L endroit où l on vise. Viser au but. frapper le but. mettre sur le but. atteindre, toucher le but. donner au but. Il sig. fig. La fin que l on se propose. Je n ay autre but en cela, que &c. c est mon but. se proposer un but. On dit… … Dictionnaire de l'Académie française
but — but1 [but; ] unstressed [ bət] prep. [ME < OE butan, buton, without, outside; WGmc comp. < * be , *bi ,BY + * utana, from without: see OUT] 1. with the exception of; excepting; save [nobody came but me ]: earlier, and still sometimes,… … English World dictionary
But.fr — BUT Pour les articles homonymes, voir BUT (homonymie). Logo de BUT Création 1972 … Wikipédia en Français
But ! — But ! Pays France Langue Français Périodicité Hebdomadaire Genre Presse sportive Date de fondation … Wikipédia en Français
But! — But ! But ! {{{nomorigine}}} Pays … Wikipédia en Français
