Although vs. But

'Although' and 'but' are conjunctions that express contrast. In this lesson, we will learn more about them.

What Is Their Main Difference?

The main difference between 'although' and 'but' is that 'although' expresses surprising events while 'but' talks about expected events.

Parts of Speech

'Although' and 'but' are conjunctions.
'Although' is classified as 'subordinating conjunctions.' It joins an independent clause with a dependent clause.
'But' is classified as 'coordinating conjunctions.' It connects two parts of a sentence that are grammatically similar.

Although he was mentioned in the article, his name was spelled incorrectly.

He was mentioned in the article, but his name was spelled incorrectly.

Talking about Contrast

'Although' and 'but' express contrast. As mentioned earlier, 'although' expresses a surprising contrast, while 'but' shows an expected contrast. Watch:

He was running although he was surrounded.

He was running but he was surrounded.

Order

Since 'although' and 'but' have a different sentence order when it comes to expressing the main idea and the contrast.
'Although' expresses sentences with two different patterns:

Although + contrast + main idea
Main idea + although + contrast

Although he wanted to be here, he couldn't attend.

He couldn't attend although he wanted to be here.

Main idea + but + contrast

He wanted to be here but he couldn't attend.

We were interested in the auction but the tickets were sold out.

In other words, 'although' can be positioned at the beginning and the middle of a sentence, while 'but' can only be placed at the middle of the sentence.

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