However and Nevertheless 1

Gap-fill exercise

Do you know when you can use "nevertheless"? Wherever possible, fill in the blanks with "nevertheless." If you cannot use "nevertheless," use "however."

Explanation of "Nevertheless"

English learners are often confused by "nevertheless" and "however," and for good reason! You can always replace "nevertheless" with "however," but you cannot always replace "however" with "nevertheless." What gives?

"Nevertheless" is a transition. Like all transitions, "nevertheless" links two clauses, showing a logical relationship between them. "Nevertheless" indicates concession. What is concession? Put simply, a concession is something that is unexpected or surprising. Consider this statement:
Jane lived in Tokyo for ten years.

So, given that Jane lived in Japan for a long time, what would be unexpected or surprising?
Jane has never been to Peru.
Jane can't speak any Japanese.

The first statement is not a surprise. Japan and Peru are not close together. These are simply contrasting ideas. However, the second statement is a surprise. We would expect Jane to speak at least some Japanese since she lived in Japan for so long. Thus, we can use "nevertheless" to connect the two ideas:
Jane lived in Tokyo for ten years; nevertheless, she can't speak any Japanese.

"However" can indicate both concession AND contrast, so you can use "however" anywhere you can use "nevertheless."
1. John is terrified of flying; , he flies to London at least once each month because of his work.

2. Elaine is allergic to dogs. , she has four.

3. Hiro lives in Japan. His girlfriend, , lives in Taiwan.

4. Frank is very shy. , his sister is very outgoing.

5. My husband enjoys watching baseball. , he doesn't like watching football.

6. Gina said that she didn't have time for dating. , she went on four dates with Daniel just last week.

7. Candace doesn't drink much tea. She drinks at least a pot of coffee each day, .

8. Everyone was sure that the company would offer John a promotion. , John decided to go work for a new company.

9. The coffee shop down the street is closed for remodeling. , the one around the corner is open.

10. That new nightclub downtown, Carpe Diem, was always full of people. , it shut down last week because it kept losing money.