But example sentences
Related (11): however, yet, though, although, nevertheless, still, except, whereas, otherwise, conversely, despite
"But" Example Sentences
Common Phrases
- but not limited to
- but rather
- but then again
- but still
- but wait
- all but
- but for
- but seriously
- but honestly
- but here's the thing
- nothing but
- but I digress
- but anyway
Examples by Level
A1
- I like pizza but I don't like olives.
- She is small but she is very strong.
- It is cold but the sun is nice.
A2
- I wanted to go to the party but my car broke down that morning.
- He studied hard but the exam was much harder than he expected.
- The restaurant looked fancy but the food was actually quite cheap.
B1
- I understand why she left, but I still think she could have said goodbye.
- The job pays well but the commute is killing me — I'm thinking about quitting.
- He's talented, but talent alone doesn't get you very far in this industry.
B2
- She'd always been the responsible one, but watching her make that choice showed me how little I actually knew her.
- The data suggested one conclusion, but the lived reality of the situation told a completely different story.
- He wanted to believe it was an accident, but the timing was too convenient, and they both knew it.
C1
- What struck me most was not the tragedy itself, but the strange indifference with which people seemed to accept it.
- The proposal had merit, certainly, but it glossed over the fundamental contradiction at its core.
- She'd spent decades building something meaningful, but a single decision — made in haste — threatened to undo it all.
C2
- There's a peculiar kind of loneliness that comes from being right but having no one believe you.
- He'd constructed his entire identity around this belief, but the moment it crumbled, he discovered he had nothing underneath.
- The irony wasn't lost on her: she'd fought so hard to escape that life, but it had followed her anyway, patient and inevitable.
Examples by Scenario
🏠 Everyday Life
- I meant to do laundry yesterday but I just ended up watching TV instead.
- The dog is cute but he ate my shoe this morning and I'm still annoyed about it.
- It looks like rain but I'm going for a walk anyway — I need to clear my head.
💼 Workplace
- The meeting was supposed to be thirty minutes but we got stuck on one question for an hour.
- She's great at her job but she has zero patience for small talk, which makes team lunches awkward.
- The project deadline got pushed back but nobody told me until I'd already finished my part.
📊 Business
- The product is solid but our competitor's marketing is three times better than ours.
- We could expand into that market but the regulatory landscape is a nightmare right now.
- The client loved the proposal but they want to negotiate the price down by twenty percent.
🛒 Buying / Shopping
- This jacket fits perfectly but it's way more than I wanted to spend.
- I've been looking for a good coffee maker but every review says something different.
- The sale ends today but I still can't decide if I actually need this thing.
✈️ Travel
- The flight was delayed but at least the airline gave us free vouchers for food.
- I wanted to see the museum but the line was two hours long so we skipped it.
- The hotel was beautiful but the neighborhood was sketchy and I didn't feel safe walking around at night.
📚 Education
- She's brilliant but she doesn't study enough and her grades don't reflect what she actually knows.
- The class is interesting but the professor speaks so fast that I miss half of what he says.
- He passed the test but he admitted afterward that he'd just memorized the answers without understanding them.
❤️ Relationships
- I love him but sometimes I wonder if we want the same things anymore.
- She said she forgave me but there's still this distance between us that wasn't there before.
- We've been together for years but last week felt like the first time I really saw who he was.
📰 News / Politics
- The policy sounds good in theory but the actual implementation has been a disaster.
- The senator claimed to support the bill but her voting record tells a different story.
- The report found evidence of corruption but the government dismissed it as politically motivated.
💻 Technology
- The app is free but it collects so much data that I'm not sure it's worth it.
- AI can do amazing things but it still makes bizarre mistakes that a human would never make.
- The new phone is faster but the battery life is somehow worse than the old model.
📝 Formal Writing
- The study demonstrates a clear correlation, but causation cannot be definitively established from the available data.
- While the proposed framework addresses several key issues, but it fails to account for regional variations in implementation.
- The historical record supports this interpretation, but subsequent scholarship has challenged certain foundational assumptions underlying the original thesis.