HOWEVER (kuitenkin)

"However" is the most common of the contrastive sentence connectors and can serve two different fuctions.
It can

1. introduce conflict or a problem that contrasts with the situation, facts or viewpoints presented in earlier sentences, or
2. signal that the contrast introduced in the second sentence is somehow surprising or unexpected in light of what was said in the first sentence.

By far, the most important use of "however" is to introduce a problem in a Situation-Problem-Solution pattern. In this pattern, the writer begins by describing the "good" or positive side (benefits, advantages) of the present situation, and then goes on to present the problems (drawbacks, disadvantages). This positive-to-negative ordering is the mirror opposite of that used with "nevertheless". The Situation-Problem-Solution pattern forms the basis for structuring abstracts and introduction sections in research articles. This is an important function in academic writing, where writers are attempting to justify their choice of research topic.

Situation ( + ) Problem ( - ) Sampling techniques developed for attribute inspection have traditionally been designed on the basis of perfect human inspection. However, studies in human factors have shown that human inspection is not error free. Earlier research ( + )Criticism ( - ) The prototype training program proved to be successful in improving inspection accuracy. However, it did not show significant improvements in inspection speed.

INTRODUCING SURPRISE:

Both "however" and "nevertheless" have a concessive effect in that they can introduce a sentence that not only contrasts with a previous sentence, but also seems surprising or unexpected in view of what has been stated earlier in the first sentence. "However" orders positive information before negative, whereas "nevertheless" is used with the opposite ordering, negative before positive.

Positive ( + ) Negative ( - ) All major studies of the greenhouse effect have concluded that sea level and precipitation will change significantly. However, most engineers and planners implicitly assume that these changes will not occur. Negative ( - ) Positive ( + ) Most engineers and planners implicitly assume that these changes will not occur. Nevertheless, all major studies of the greenhouse effect have concluded that sea level and precipitation will change significantly.

Only those sentences that can be contrasted using the concessive sentence connectors "however" or "nevertheless" can also be re-worded to combine with:

• concessive subordinators ("although", "even though" "though")
• concessive prepositions ("despite", "in spite of").

Although "however" usually comes at the beginning of the sentence, it can also occur before the verb or, less frequently, at the end.

See also "However"  vs. "Nevertheless"

Both "nevertheless" and "nonetheless" have the same basic concessive meaning as "however": They all introduce a sentence that gives information which is unexpected or surprising in light of information given in a previous sentence. Unlike "however", which is based on a positive-to-negative ordering of information, "nevertheless" and "nonetheless" require an opposite ordering of information, negative-to-positive.

Notice how reversing the order of the negative and positive sentences in the example below not only requires different sentence connectors but also changes the final focus. The first example stresses that the climate may already be changing, whereas the second sentence stresses "the difficulty of detecting the changes”.

Negative ( - ) Positive ( + ) On a global scale, there is increasing evidence that the Earth's climate is changing due to human influence. The high natural variability of the Mediterranean climate make both the detection of climate change and attribution of its cause very difficult. Nevertheless, observations suggest that climate may already be changing in the region. Positive ( + ) Negative ( - ) Observations suggest that climate may already be changing in the Mediterranean region. However, on a global scale, there is increasing evidence that climate is changing due to human influence. The high natural variability of the Mediterranean climate make both the detection of climate change and attribution of its cause very difficult.

The sentence that comes before nevertheless needs not necessarily need to be in the negative form. It is sufficient that the first sentence is simply a fact, event or situation that has a negative impact. Notice in the example below how the sentence in the grammatical negative form ("produces no greenhouse gases") is in fact a positive effect, whereas that in the positive form ("highly toxic radioactive wastes") is actually the negative effect of the process. Thus, it is evaluation of the effect, rather than the actual grammatical form, that is important in determining whether "nevertheless" might be used instead of "however".

Negative ( - ) Positive ( + ) Nuclear fission produces highly toxic radioactive wastes. Nevertheless, it produces no greenhouse gases. Positive ( + ) Negative ( - ) Nuclear fission produces no greenhouse gases. However, it does produce highly toxic radioactive wastes.

In popular magazine and newspaper texts, the same meaning is often conveyed by the more informal "still", yet, "just the same" or "despite this problem".

Like "however", "nevertheless" and "nonetheless" the sentences could be rewritten using:

• concessive subordinators ("although", "even though" "though")
• concessive prepositions ("despite", "in spite of").

See also "However"  vs. "Nevertheless"

Use "on the other hand" to contrast two different views (underlined below) of a single issue or problem. Note that although these two views may represent opposites, they do not contradict or cancel each other out. "On the other hand" can sometimes also include the meanings of "in contrast" “conversely” and “alternatively”

Problem (Is global warming real?) Fossil fuel companies have worked relentlessly to convince the American public that global warming is a 'Chicken Little' fantasy. The insurance industry, on the other hand, knows that global warming is real because hurricanes, cyclones, and floods between 1990 and 1995 cost the industry about fifteen times as much as such events had cost in the 1980s. VIEW 1 Fossil fuel companies VIEW 2 Insurance industry

Only those sentences using the adversative sentence connectors "on the other hand", "in contrast" or "conversely" can also be re-worded to combine with adversative subordinators ("while", "whereas") and adversative prepositions ("unlike", "in contrast to").

Adversative subordinators:

While Fossil fuel companies have worked relentlessly to convince the American public that global warming is a 'Chicken Little' fantasy, the insurance industry knows that global warming is real because hurricanes, cyclones, and floods between 1990 and 1995 cost the industry about fifteen times as much as such events had cost in the 1980s. Fossil fuel companies have worked relentlessly to convince the American public that global warming is a 'Chicken Little' fantasy, whereas the insurance industry knows that global warming is real because hurricanes, cyclones, and floods between 1990 and 1995 cost the industry about fifteen times as much as such events had cost in the 1980s.

Adversative prepositions:

Adversative preposition: Unlike Fossil fuel companies, which have worked relentlessly to convince the American public that global warming is a 'Chicken Little' fantasy, the insurance industry knows that global warming is real because hurricanes, cyclones, and floods between 1990 and 1995 cost the industry about fifteen times as much as such events had cost in the 1980s. In contrast to Fossil fuel companies, which have worked relentlessly to convince the American public that global warming is a 'Chicken Little' fantasy, the insurance industry knows that global warming is real because hurricanes, cyclones, and floods between 1990 and 1995 cost the industry about fifteen times as much as such events had cost in the 1980s.

See also "However"  vs. "On the other hand"

See also "On the other hand"  vs. "Alternatively" and "Instead"

Unlike the other contrastive sentence connectors, these two sentence connectors ("in contrast" and "by contrast") contrast a single feature (underlined below) in two different things (red below). Note, however, that the feature in the first thing is usually the opposite of that compared in the second thing.

Surface temperatures The average surface temperature of the moon, about the same distance as the Earth from the Sun, is -18°C. The moon, of course, has no atmosphere. By contrast, the average surface temperature of the Earth is +15°C. This heating effect is called the natural greenhouse effect. The Moon The Earth -18°C +15°C

Only those sentences that can be contrasted using the adversative sentence connectors "in contrast" or "conversely" can also be re-worded to combine with adversative subordinators ("while", "whereas") and adversative prepositions ("unlike", "in contrast to").

Adversative subordinators:

While the average surface temperature of the moon is -18°C, the average surface temperature of the Earth is +15°C. The average surface temperature of the moon is -18°C, while the average surface temperature of the Earth is +15°C.

Adversative prepositions:

Adversative preposition: Unlike the moon with an average temperature of -18°C, the Earth is able to maintain an average surface temperature of +15°C. In contrast to the moon with an average temperature of -18°C, the Earth is able to maintain an average surface temperature of +15°C.

See also "In contrast / By contrast"  vs. "Conversely" and "On the contrary"

Use "conversely" to contrast the relationship between two related features in the same situation, process, or facts from opposite points of views (shown in red and blue). These features, often expressed as pairs of opposites such as hot-cold, increased-decreased, fast-slow, high-low or small-large, appear in reverse orders in the two sentences. Thus, "conversely" indicates that two events or situations are related to each other, but that opposite things occur or are true in each case. This ordering of information can be expressed as follows:

[if (A = true), then (B ≠ true)]. Conversely, [if (A ≠ true), then (B = true)].

Note in the example below how "conversely" clearly signals an inverse relationship of cause-effect between the two features temperture and sea levels.

Ocean level fluctuations Ocean levels have always fluctuated with changes in global temperatures. During ice ages when the earth was 5°C colder than today, much of the ocean's water was frozen in glaciers, and the sea level was often more than 100 meters below its current level. Conversely, during the last interglacial period (120,000 years ago) when the average temperature was 1-2°C warmer than today, the sea level was about 6 meters higher than today. RELATIONSHIP 1   colder temperature lower sea level RELATIONSHIP 2   warmer temperature higher sea level

Don't confuse "conversely" with "on the other hand", which is used to contrast two different sides of a situation or argument, but not sides that are opposites or inversely related to each other, as does "conversely".

See also "Conversely"  vs. "In contrast / By contrast" and "On the contrary"

Use "instead" to replace or substitute one action with another. When "instead" comes at the beginning of a sentence (with a comma), it tends to be often used after a negative sentence.

Situation 1 ( - ) Situation 2 ( + ) Without the natural “greenhouse effect,” temperatures would be much lower than they are now, and life as known today would not be possible. Instead, thanks to greenhouse gases, the earth’s average temperature is a more hospitable 15°C.

"Instead" can also come without a comma after the conjunctions "and" and "or".

Situation 1 ( - ) Situation 2 ( + ) Although the U.S. signed an agreement known as the Kyoto Agreement in 1997, in 2001 the new U.S. government rejected the approach of cutting its emissions of carbon dioxide and instead called for a more balanced approach toward reducing carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases. Scientists have still not been able to answer the question of whether climate change is gradually melting the rest of the world's glaciers and ice caps, or instead is adding snow to them.

Don't confuse "Instead" with "on the other hand" and "alternatively". While "on the other hand" is used to contrast two different sides of a situation or argument, "instead" replaces one thing with another. Unlike "alternatively", "instead" does not offer any choice of actions, but instead simply excludes or eliminates one possible 'line of action'.

See also "Instead"  vs. "Alternatively" and "On the other hand"

Use "on the contrary" to disagree with an idea or to dispute the "truth" of a widely-held view. In the first sentence, the writer contradicts this viewpoint using a negative form (“no”, “not”, “nothing”), and the second sentence then supports this opposite view with evidence or correct facts, expressed in the positive form.

In the example below, notice how the first sentence contradicts the "wrong" view that 'Carbon dioxide is a pollutant' with a negative form (“not”), while the second sentence supports this view with the "correct" view expressed in the positive form.

Negative ( - ) Positive ( + ) Carbon dioxide (CO2) is not a pollutant. On the contrary, it makes crops and forests grow faster. Economic analysis has demonstrated that more CO2 and a warmer climate will raise GNP and thus average income.

See also "On the contrary"  vs. "Conversely" and "In contrast / By contrast"

Use "alternatively" when there is a choice, or you intend to suggest an action different from that mentioned in a previous sentence. This sentence connector occurs most frequently with "can" or "could", and can also follow "or" (often without a comma).

See also "Alternatively"  vs. "Instead" and "On the other hand"