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 — (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.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
But — But, n. [See 1st {But}.] 1. A limit; a boundary. [1913 Webster] 2. The end; esp. the larger or thicker end, or the blunt, in distinction from the sharp, end. Now disused in this sense, being replaced by {butt}[2]. See 1st {Butt}. [1913 Webster… … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
But — ist der Name mehrerer Personen Anton Nikolajewitsch But (*1980), russischer Eishockeyspieler Wiktor Anatoljewitsch But (*1967), russischer Waffenhändler Wladimir Wladimirowitsch But (* 1977), russischer Fußballspieler Bautzener Unternehmer Tage… … Deutsch Wikipedia
BUT — steht für: Bautzener Unternehmer Tage Bundesverband Theaterpädagogik But ist der Familienname folgender Personen: Anton Nikolajewitsch But (* 1980), russischer Eishockeyspieler Wiktor Anatoljewitsch But (* 1967), russischer Waffenhändler Wladimir … Deutsch Wikipedia
But en or — ● But en or premier but marqué au cours des prolongations d un match de football, qui donne la victoire à l équipe qui l inscrit. (Cette pratique, qui permet d éviter l épreuve des tirs au but, est aussi appelée but décisif.) … Encyclopédie Universelle
