Wenn in der geschriebenen Sprache eine klare Einschränkung gemeint ist ("jedoch") passt "however" fasst immer. Viel mehr Auswahl bietet das Englische nicht (but, however, nachgestelltes "though"). Auf diese Textsorte bezieht sich die Regel deiner Englischlehrerin und als Faustregel ist sie in Ordnung, man findet aber auch hier "but" am Satzanfang:

Da er aber die Probleme nicht lösen konnte, mussten wir ihn entlassen
But since he wasn't able to solve the problems we had to dismiss him
However, since he wasn't able to solve the problems ....

Wie wir die Schüler einteilen wird aber vom Zweck der Veranstaltung abhängen
But how we are going to categorize the students will depend on the purpose of the event
However, how we .....


In der gesprochenen Sprache gilt diese Regel auf keinen Fall, vor allem, wenn "but" in einer anderen Bedeutung gebraucht wird, nämlich als rein emotionale Verstärkung des Gesagten ohne eigene Bedeutung:

Aber das habe ich doch nicht gewusst!
But I didn't know that!

Aber das tue ich doch gerne!
But It's a pleasure!

In Deinem konkreten Beispiel ist es aber so, dass "of course" praktisch nie mit "but" kombiniert wird, weil es alleine schon einen hohen Emotionsgehalt hat, dass eine weitere Verstärkung nicht nötig ist:

Ich würde mich aber natürlich über eine Antwort wehr freuen
I would, of course, be delighted if you answered me

Hast du was dagegen? - Aber nein!
Do you mind? - Of course not!

Hast du Lust auszugehen? - Aber ja!
Would you like to go out? - Yes, of course!

I would basically agree with Andi.

Having said that, it might help to know the preceding sentence.

I also agree with Andi (AT)

What about starting a "But" sentence with "though"? I stumbled over that possibility quite a lot and I think it's nice... (a bit more formal)

What do you think?

btw not referring to the example given from dedo as in that case "though" doesn't really apply... just wondering about the general case...

alexxusz: but you wouldn't start the sentence with though, would you?
However, instead of starting a sentence with 'but' you could end it with 'though'. It's a little bit more formal, though.

However, nonetheless, yet (although they don't all work for the same situations!)

"However, I am still willing to give you a chance"
"Nonetheless, I am still willing to give you a shot"
"Yet, despite all that, I am still willing to give you a go".

I think you're English teacher is right up to a point - it makes for very bad style in formal texts. But (!) artistic license is also important. If you're writing a novel, or a speech or anything where the rhetorical structure is important, I'd say that using "but" at the beginning of a sentence is OK. It can be a valid means of placing emphasis.

Basically what my English teacher said, when we pointed out that authors etc. used "but" at the start was, "yes, but they know what they are doing and why".

Hi Helmut,

thinking about it i use it at the end of a sentence in most of the cases, indeed...
Is it wrong to use it in the beginning? "Though, it's a bit more formal"

Thanks,

-alexx