I'm going to admit something, I misuse the blazes out of the word, "but." I'm probably not the only one who does. The dictionary says it means, "on the contrary; yet." Then the dictionary goes on to mention another dozen ways it's used. These days, it seems to me that people use "but" as a synonym for "and" or just as something to join two sentences together. The two halves of the sentence don't even necessarily have to mean anything together.
"I love to eat, but I won't use my fork." (Why the "but?" The "but" isn't refuting anything, it's just there, taking up space, joining the two sentences together.)
Grammar has never been especially easy for me. I have to work at it all the time. I'm quite likely butchering it right now. The funny thing is, I feel that if the sentence is understood then why should it be incorrect? If the audience understands the meaning, then can it be wrong? That's the part I really struggle with, where on one hand it's correct and on the other hand it's clunky. To me words are like a fine flavoring to a rich and wonderful meat sauce. You can use all sorts of things to make it taste great, so why limit yourself to only the standard few?
Language is constantly changing. Sometimes it flows toward a more rigid system, and then it swims right over to a relaxed method. However it's used, I think the important part is everything making sense when it's used. Omnis traductor traditor. "Every translator is a traitor." In other words, check the meanings out yourself. Don't rely on someone else to tell you what things mean. Use that wonderful gift between your ears, deploy that gray matter, and think!
- M
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