comma after 'though' [conjunction]: Though, some are poor.

[udoh]

Hello,

does one write a comma after the introductory word "though" in the beginning of a sentence (the introduction consisting only in the word "though", not making a whole introductory sentence).

Mini-Example: Most of them are wealthy. Though(,?) some are poor.

This is only a mini example and it could probably better be written as "Most of them are wealthy, though some are poor."
My real example is more complicated. I want to focus on the fact that "though" is the only word of the introduction.

I read that if "though" is used in this function at the end of a sentence, a comma is not necessary before it, since it is used adverbially with the verb "are". What is the situation if it stands in the beginning?

Since I am not a native speaker, I also would like to ask if this is usage of "though" is actually correct. I did not find many examples. I remember "however" being used in such contexts, but I thought that "though" might be more formal, which is my intention here.

Best regards,
udoh

 

[Cagey]

Hello udoh.

I would write this as a single sentence, and put a comma before 'though' as in your suggested alternative.

Most of them are wealthy, though some are poor.

Though acts as a conjunction here, and would not be used to introduce an independent sentence.

Added: You should give us the actual sentence you are considering beginning with 'though'.

 

[cyberpedant]

My real example is more complicated.

Why not give us your real example?

 

[udoh]

The real example is roughly the following:

[comments about two mathematical theories]
Smith and Johnson unified those theories. Though(,?) they restrict themselves to the case where ...
Here we show how this could be generalized to the situation where ...

I did not mention it in the original post, since "..." something that is not comprehensible for a general audience.

Actually, this is is also a simplification. I do not want to use a phrase such the one suggested by Cagey, since the structure would become too complicated.

 

[Cagey]

We still need a more complete sentence. As it stands, I read 'though' as the equivalent to 'although' and the introduction to a subordinate concessive clause, which would require a main clause.

Though they restrict themselves to the case where ..., [nevertheless] ....

 

[cyberpedant]

Here's how I would have written this: "Smith and Johnson unified those theories, although they restrict themselves to the case where ..."

I did not mention it in the original post, since "..." something that is not comprehensible for a general audience.

By the way, you may be surprised at the level of expertise in many arcane areas you'll find in this forum. We're not "Yahoo answers."

 

[udoh]

I shortly saw the message written by ForumName. He understood what I wanted to say. I think the following two sentences appeared in his post:

However, some are poor.
Some are poor though.

Is there a semantic difference between them? I do not clearly understand the difference between the words "however" and "though". What I tried to do is to replace "however" in the first sentence by "though". As I already wrote in my first sentence, I am not sure if this is possible.

 

[florence a]

though can be either a synonym of although, and not followed by a comma,
or a synonym of however but placed at the end of the sentence, preceded by a comma.

 

[Cagey]

In some uses, the meanings of however and though overlap.
As florence a says, the meaning of 'though' depends in part on its position in the sentence.

Here are some threads that may help:
however vs though [position of]
Position of "though"
the position of "though" in sentence

(You may add a question to any of these if its explanation does not seem complete, or if it does not cover the use you are thinking of.)

 

[udoh]

though can be either a synonym of although, and not followed by a comma,
or a synonym of however but placed at the end of the sentence, preceded by a comma.

Thank you for this comment, florence. I thought that one may replace "however" in the beginning of a sentence by "though" without changing its position. This seems not to be the case.

In the thread
http://forum.wordreference.com/showthread.php?t=1008671
it is written, that "though" at the end of a sentence is mostly found in informal spoken language.

Here the context is academic. Therefore I would like to know if the following version would be appropriate?

[comments about two mathematical theories]
Smith and Johnson unified those theories. However, they restrict themselves to the case where ...
Here we show how this could be generalized to the situation where ...

 

[Cagey]

I agree that 'though' at the end of the sentence is less formal. It is more suited to spoken language. In an academic setting, I would use the version you have in the post above:

However, they restrict themselves ....

 

[udoh]

I agree that 'though' at the end of the sentence is less formal. It is more suited to spoken language. In an academic setting, I would use the version you have in the post above:

However, they restrict themselves ....

Thank you.