# English Use Of "BUT" At the End of A Sentence **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 20, 2011, 12:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-use-of-but-at-the-end-of-a-sentence/603545 "2011-11-20T12:54:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Baron\_Greenback](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baron_greenback/32/48_2.png) [@Baron\_Greenback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baron_Greenback)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2011, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-use-of-but-at-the-end-of-a-sentence/603545/21 "2011-11-20T21:19:20Z")
> [@isaiahrobinson](#): > > I’ve never heard it used in Scotland. Scottish people use “like” in that way, but I’ve never heard “but”. Anyone have an example? Scotland may be small but there’s a fair old spread of language use. “Like” is used in a similar fashion to “but”, but neither is universal. ---
**Author:** ![PaulParkhead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7ea924/32.png) [@PaulParkhead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PaulParkhead)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2011, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-use-of-but-at-the-end-of-a-sentence/603545/22 "2011-11-20T21:51:00Z")
> [@isaiahrobinson](#): > > I’ve never heard it used in Scotland. Scottish people use “like” in that way, but I’ve never heard “but”. Anyone have an example? You: Hey Paul, fancy a pint? Me: Aye, sure. Gotta get home for 8, but. ---
**Author:** ![hibernicus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hibernicus/32/2802_2.png) [@hibernicus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hibernicus)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2011, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-use-of-but-at-the-end-of-a-sentence/603545/23 "2011-11-20T21:57:22Z")
This is really characteristic of Northern Irish speech. Everyone I know from Northern Ireland does this, all the time. I’ve never heard anyone else doing it. If Robert Frost were from Belfast, he would have written “Whose woods these are I think I know. His house is in the village, but.” Who said poems have to rhyme? ---
**Author:** ![isaiahrobinson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/85e7bf/32.png) [@isaiahrobinson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/isaiahrobinson)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2011, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-use-of-but-at-the-end-of-a-sentence/603545/24 "2011-11-20T22:20:37Z")
> [@PaulParkhead](#): > > You: Hey Paul, fancy a pint? > Me: Aye, sure. Gotta get home for 8, but. Interesting. Where do you live? I’ve never heard it in Edinburgh/Perth before. ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2011, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-use-of-but-at-the-end-of-a-sentence/603545/25 "2011-11-20T22:31:16Z")
> [@Onomatopoeia](#): > > Mine was simply an illustration of an appropriate use of ‘but’ at the end of a sentence. 😉 Now I’m embarrassed, goats butt. ---
**Author:** ![Sierra\_Indigo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f0a364/32.png) [@Sierra\_Indigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sierra_Indigo)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2011, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-use-of-but-at-the-end-of-a-sentence/603545/26 "2011-11-20T22:42:38Z")
> [@jjimm](#): > > [Here you go](http://oxforddictionaries.com/definition/but?rskey=40yAkX&result=1), from the Oxford English Dictionary: I will point out that even in Australia it’s very specifically a New South Wales linguistic quirk. After I spent a few years living in Sydney and picked it up from my friends there, when I came back to Adelaide there was merciless ribbing when I finished my sentences with ‘but’. And I still do it from time to time, if I’m not thinking about it. The more I think about it, the weirder it sounds but. And it’s very much not a trailing but. The sentence is terminated. ---
**Author:** ![chiroptera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/df705f/32.png) [@chiroptera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chiroptera)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2011, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-use-of-but-at-the-end-of-a-sentence/603545/27 "2011-11-20T22:45:33Z")
If I may add a data point. I moved to the U.S. from Glasgow (and prior to that, the Northern Hebrides) in 1979 and while I’ve lost my accent, I definitely recall the common use of “…but.” at the end of a spoken sentence. Whether it’s more of a Glasgow thing or a Hebridean thing, I’m not sure. One thing that I realised after moving here was how localized accents could be back in the UK. Glasgow is only about 50 miles from Edinburgh, but the accent, dialect and slang were _very_ different. Paul Parkhead’s example resonates, [del]but[/del] though. ---
**Author:** ![gracer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8e7dd6/32.png) [@gracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gracer)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2011, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-use-of-but-at-the-end-of-a-sentence/603545/28 "2011-11-20T22:53:26Z")
**Shniru** , I think it’s the German equivalent of saying “right?” at the end of a sentence. It’s not exactly the same, but sort of looks for some sort of approval. I might be wrong though. Agree with the rest that I (brit) only use “but” at the end of a sentence when I can’t be bothered to finish the thought, but… (maybe there are other uses) ---
**Author:** ![PaulParkhead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7ea924/32.png) [@PaulParkhead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PaulParkhead)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2011, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-use-of-but-at-the-end-of-a-sentence/603545/29 "2011-11-20T23:51:59Z")
> [@isaiahrobinson](#): > > Interesting. Where do you live? I’ve never heard it in Edinburgh/Perth before. I live near and grew up around Glasgow. As has been noted, it’s probably a western Scotland thing, so if your experience with Scottish dialect is from Edinburgh and Perth, it makes sense that you wouldn’t have heard it. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2011, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-use-of-but-at-the-end-of-a-sentence/603545/30 "2011-11-21T00:05:35Z")
I’m sure I’ve heard Colm Meany employ this usage in the Barrytown films, which are all set in Dublin. ---
**Author:** ![Princhester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2011, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-use-of-but-at-the-end-of-a-sentence/603545/31 "2011-11-21T00:06:58Z")
> [@Sierra\_Indigo](#): > > I will point out that even in Australia it’s very specifically a New South Wales linguistic quirk. After I spent a few years living in Sydney and picked it up from my friends there, when I came back to Adelaide there was merciless ribbing when I finished my sentences with ‘but’. And I still do it from time to time, if I’m not thinking about it. > > The more I think about it, the weirder it sounds but. > > And it’s very much not a trailing but. The sentence is terminated. It is not specifically an NSW linquistic quirk. It is a socio-economic quirk, if anything. It’s commonplace amongst a certain demographic in Qld. I suspect similarly everywhere else in Australia also. ---
**Author:** ![PaulParkhead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7ea924/32.png) [@PaulParkhead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PaulParkhead)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2011, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-use-of-but-at-the-end-of-a-sentence/603545/32 "2011-11-21T00:11:17Z")
> [@gracer](#): > > **Shniru** , I think it’s the German equivalent of saying “right?” at the end of a sentence. It’s not exactly the same, but sort of looks for some sort of approval. I might be wrong though. > > Agree with the rest that I (brit) only use “but” at the end of a sentence when I can’t be bothered to finish the thought, but… > > (maybe there are other uses) It’s not really seeking approval. More, it’s a case of putting the word “but” in the wrong place. I mean, in my example I should have said “Aye, sure, but I need to be home by 8.” It’s just a linguistic tic. Another Glasgow one is adding “by the way” to the ends of sentences. “She’s gorgeous, by the way!” Other dialects have them too. I mean, there’s an obvious one in Northern Ireland, so there is. You hear it all the time, so you do. A fair number of folks in the southeast of England throw around the word “innit” like it was going out of fashion. ---
**Author:** ![Ian\_D.Bergkamp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/5f8ce5/32.png) [@Ian\_D.Bergkamp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ian_D.Bergkamp)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2011, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-use-of-but-at-the-end-of-a-sentence/603545/33 "2011-11-21T00:15:10Z")
I’ve run across this recently in a book. I’m thinking it was Trainspotting, but it may have been an Ian Rankin book. Something Scottish, at any rate. Anyway, it was definitely an ending “but” with a period as opposed to a trailing-off “but” with ellipses. And it appeared to be a case of simply moving the “but” from the beginning of a clause to the end, with the meaning unchanged. ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Mondegreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/91b2a8/32.png) [@Lord\_Mondegreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Mondegreen)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2011, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-use-of-but-at-the-end-of-a-sentence/603545/34 "2011-11-21T00:21:14Z")
> [@Sierra\_Indigo](#): > > I will point out that even in Australia it’s very specifically a New South Wales linguistic quirk. After I spent a few years living in Sydney and picked it up from my friends there, when I came back to Adelaide there was merciless ribbing when I finished my sentences with ‘but’. And I still do it from time to time, if I’m not thinking about it. > > The more I think about it, the weirder it sounds but. > > And it’s very much not a trailing but. The sentence is terminated. Some Queenslanders do it too. It used to annoy me, but I’m over it now. I personally still try to avoid it, but. There’s also, “but, eh?” As in, “I see it’s going to rain tomorrow. We’re still going to the footy but, eh?” The voice doesn’t rise as the end of the “eh”, making it more like a positive declaration, like “aren’t we” is used sometimes. ---
**Author:** ![Baron\_Greenback](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baron_greenback/32/48_2.png) [@Baron\_Greenback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baron_Greenback)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2011, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-use-of-but-at-the-end-of-a-sentence/603545/35 "2011-11-21T00:25:04Z")
> [@PaulParkhead](#): > > Another Glasgow one is adding “by the way” to the ends of sentences. “She’s gorgeous, by the way!” She’s pure gorgeous, by the way. A very common use of the word “pure” ---
**Author:** ![PaulParkhead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7ea924/32.png) [@PaulParkhead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PaulParkhead)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2011, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-use-of-but-at-the-end-of-a-sentence/603545/36 "2011-11-21T00:42:27Z")
> [@Baron\_Greenback](#): > > She’s pure gorgeous, by the way. A very common use of the word “pure” It is, yes. I seem to recall Prestwick Airport used to have a sign on the terminal building that read “Pure dead brilliant.” They forgot the “by the way”. ---
**Author:** ![PaulParkhead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7ea924/32.png) [@PaulParkhead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PaulParkhead)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2011, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-use-of-but-at-the-end-of-a-sentence/603545/37 "2011-11-21T00:43:52Z")
> [@Baron\_Greenback](#): > > She’s pure gorgeous, by the way. A very common use of the word “pure” “She’s pure gorgeous, by the way. Fuckin’ mental, but. Wouldnae touch her wi yours.” ---
**Author:** ![Baron\_Greenback](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baron_greenback/32/48_2.png) [@Baron\_Greenback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baron_Greenback)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2011, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-use-of-but-at-the-end-of-a-sentence/603545/38 "2011-11-21T01:00:50Z")
> [@PaulParkhead](#): > > “She’s pure gorgeous, by the way. Fuckin’ mental, but. Wouldnae touch her wi yours.” “She’s pure gorgeous, by the way. Fuckin’ mental, but. Wouldnae touch her wi yours, ye daft cunt” Language! ---
**Author:** ![PaulParkhead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7ea924/32.png) [@PaulParkhead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PaulParkhead)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2011, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-use-of-but-at-the-end-of-a-sentence/603545/39 "2011-11-21T01:40:29Z")
> [@Baron\_Greenback](#): > > “She’s pure gorgeous, by the way. Fuckin’ mental, but. Wouldnae touch her wi yours, ye daft cunt” > > Language! Rocket. ---
**Author:** ![elmwood](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmwood/32/3060_2.png) [@elmwood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elmwood)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2011, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-use-of-but-at-the-end-of-a-sentence/603545/40 "2011-11-21T03:05:53Z")
delete [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-use-of-but-at-the-end-of-a-sentence/603545.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-use-of-but-at-the-end-of-a-sentence/603545.md?page=3)