If vs However - What's the difference?
if | however |
Supposing that, assuming that, in the circumstances that;
Supposing that;
Although;
(computing) In the event that a statement is true (a programming statement that acts in a similar manner).
Whether;
* 1715–1717 , , Alma; or, The Progress of the Mind , Canto III:
(usually hyperbolic) Even if; even in the circumstances that.
* 2004', (singers), “'''If It’s The Last Thing I Do” (song), in ''You Do Your Thing (album):
(informal) An uncertainty, possibility, condition, doubt etc.
* 1709, Susannah Centlivre, The Busy Body'', Act III, in John Bell (ed.), ''British Theater , J. Bell (1791),
* 1791 January, "Richard?on’s Chemical Principles of the Metallic Arts''", in ''The Monthly Review , R. Griffiths,
* {{quote-news, year=2013, date=April 9, author=Andrei Lankov, title=Stay Cool. Call North Korea’s Bluff., work=New York Times
, passage=Even if they managed to strike Japan, the United States or South Korea with nuclear weapons — a big if , given that they do not have a reliable delivery system — they could not save themselves from ultimate defeat.}}
(lb) Nevertheless, nonetheless, even so, that said, in spite of this.
:
*
*:Thus, when he drew up instructions in lawyer language, he expressed the important words by an initial, a medial, or a final consonant, and made scratches for all the words between; his clerks, however , understood him very well.
*
, chapter=2, title= *{{quote-magazine, date=2013-06-29, volume=407, issue=8842, page=72-3, magazine=(The Economist)
, title= (lb) To whatever degree.
:
(lb) In whatever way.
:
*{{quote-magazine, date=2013-06-21, author=(Oliver Burkeman)
, volume=189, issue=2, page=48, magazine=(The Guardian Weekly)
, title= In what way?; how?
:
In whatever manner (that).
To whatever extent.
(proscribed) Although, though, but, yet.
As an initialism if
is interactive fiction.As an adverb however is
(lb) nevertheless, nonetheless, even so, that said, in spite of this.As a conjunction however is
in whatever manner (that).if
English
(wikipedia if)Conjunction
(English Conjunctions)- If it rains, I will get wet .
- I'd prefer it if you took your shoes off.
- He was a great friend, if a little stingy at the bar.
- If A, then B, else C.
- I don't know if I want to go or not.
- Quoth Matthew, “”
- If' it’s the last thing I do / '''If''' it takes me from Tubilo to Timbuktu / '''If''' it’s the last thing I do / I’m gonna dodge every road block, speed trap, county cop / To get my hands on you / ' If it’s the last thing I do.
Usage notes
* Specifically a subordinating conjunction.Derived terms
* iff * if and only if * if clause * if only * as if * even if * if so beAlternative forms
* ifen * iffenNoun
(en noun)page 59,
- Sir Fran.'' Nay, but Chargy, if——— ¶ ''Miran.'' Nay, Gardy, no Ifs'''.——Have I refus'd three northern lords, two British peers, and half a score knights, to have put in your ' Ifs ?
page 176,
- Well might Bergman add, (in his Sciographia,''), “if the compari?on that has been made, &c. be ju?t.” The pre?ent writer makes no ''ifs about the matter, and has ?uperadded a little inaccuracy of his own, […]
citation
Derived terms
* big if *See also
* and * else * false * or * then * trueStatistics
*however
English
(POS mixed up)Adverb
(-)The Mirror and the Lamp, passage=That the young Mr. Churchills liked—but they did not like him coming round of an evening and drinking weak whisky-and-water while he held forth on railway debentures and corporation loans. Mr. Barrett, however , by fawning and flattery, seemed to be able to make not only Mrs. Churchill but everyone else do what he desired.}}
A punch in the gut, passage=Mostly, the microbiome is beneficial. It helps with digestion and enables people to extract a lot more calories from their food than would otherwise be possible. Research over the past few years, however , has implicated it in diseases from atherosclerosis to asthma to autism.}}
The tao of tech, passage=But the real way to build a successful online business is to be better than your rivals at undermining people's control of their own attention. Partly, this is a result of how online advertising has traditionally worked: advertisers pay for clicks, and a click is a click, however it's obtained.}}
Usage notes
* (nevertheless) Strunk and White’s (The Elements of Style)'' argues that the adverb ''however , in its sense of nevertheless, should be avoided at the beginning of a sentence.Synonyms
* after all * but * nevertheless * nonetheless * notwithstanding * though * that said * still and allConjunction
(English Conjunctions)- Do it however you want.
- However far he may get, there'll be many that get further.
- However much you prepare for the exam, there will still be a few questions on which you won't be sure of the answer.
Usage notes
*(although) The use of however'' as a conjunction meaning "but" is identical to its use as a clause-initial adverb meaning "nevertheless", except in punctuation (when written) and in prosody (when spoken). Hence, the following proscribed sentence:
(proscribed) ''He told me not to do it, however''' I did it.''
is equivalent to the following accepted one:
(accepted) ''He told me not to do it; '''however , I did it.''
In particular, when used as a conjunction in this sense, ''however always appears between the clauses it connects; it does not introduce a true subordinate clause that can be moved to the start of an independent clause, because a conjunctive adverb cannot do that.
Statistics
*References
* * * * "however (degree)" in Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary (Cambridge University Press, 2007) * "
however (despite)" in Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary (Cambridge University Press, 2007) * "
however (way)" in Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary (Cambridge University Press, 2007) * * Oxford English Dictionary , second edition (1989) * Random House Webster's Unabridged Electronic Dictionary (1987-1996)