I've come across a sentence conversion question of the following type and am getting stumped.
We need to change the following sentence to a construction starting with "However…".
Though she is eccentric, she deserves to be respected.
Using "however" in the middle of the conversion would be straightforward, as in:
She is eccentric; however, she deserves to be respected.
The only option starting with "However" I can think of, is:
However eccentric she may be, she deserves to be respected.
But I can't help but feel that my construction introduces an element of 'degree' to the quality in question (ie. eccentricity) that is not present in the original sentence – the original sentence talks about respect when we're talking about the specific eccentricity present in the person in question, while my conversion is about respect no matter how much the eccentricity (all degrees of eccentricity).
Am I just overthinking this? Is the conversion wrong because of some other reason? Or is it just fine? Any help?
Best Answer
Though she is eccentric, she deserves to be respected.
In this sentence, though does not equal however, and you will change the intrinsic meaning of the sentence if forced to place however at the beginning. It means despite the fact that, even if, in spite of the fact that, etc., and emphasizes she is.
To make however express a meaning similar to though, it rightly belongs in the second clause, as you stated:
Even here, there is a subtle emphasis shift from eccentricity to respect.
To have an equivalent sentence, you need more than however:
You'll see a seeming redundancy in that construction, because however has now become merely a conjunction, which is not the function of though in the original sentence.
It's my opinion that you can't make two perfectly equivalent sentences given the constraints placed upon you.