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What is it called when two unrelated clauses are joined and make no sense

English Language & Usage Asked on June 4, 2021

I’m find this very hard to describe, but as it’s something that I find grating I’m trying to find a word to describe it so I can discuss it with people.

Here is a conversation that to me makes sense:

Me: Do you like butter?

Someone else: No I don’t, but I can spread it

This is not jarring. Maybe they could have said ‘but at least I can spread it’, but that feels implied.

Here is an example where the two clauses feel jarring:

Me: Do you like butter?

Someone else: Yes I do, but I can spread it

Here, you expect but to be a counter to the first clause, but in this example it’s not countering anything. It feel clear the speaker meant to say ‘and’, but regardless this formation feels jarring.

Here’s another example:

This is not isolated to but, however I can’t find good example.

What is this called?

One Answer

This has to do with Conventional Implicature

An example:

Donovan is poor but happy.

This sentence is logically equivalent to – that is, it has the same truth conditions as – "Donovan is poor and happy". In addition, the word "but" implicates a sense of contrast.

If you had the impression that being poor is not a contrast to being happy, the formulation with but instead of and, would seem weird and possibly ungrammatical.

Answered by Pureferret on June 4, 2021

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