the difference between "Yet" and "but"

[Michauek]

Hi,
I'm not sure what's the difference between "yet" and "but".
I have discovered in one of my grammar books that both "yet" and "but"(I usually use 'but' in my sentences) can represent opposite ideas, but it doesn't tell me anything :P
could u explain me this aspect? thanks in advance
_________________
Experience is the name everyone gives to their mistakes. Oscar Wilde
Michal. I'm an english student :-)

[Jamie (K)]

If you stop using "u" for "you", maybe I will. (Gosh, I hate it when people do that! Every time I read that, my mind says the word in Dutch.)

"But" just means "but". "Yet" is usually used when there's some kind of contrast or surprise involved.

"She's a nurse, but she does cartoon voices part time." (Nothing strange here.)
"She's a nurse, yet she smokes." (It's strange, surprising and paradoxical that a medical person would smoke.)

"He walked in the door, but nobody saw him."
"He shot the man in front of 50 witnesses, yet nobody says they saw it."

I think that in Polish you use "ale" for a normal "but". For something similar to the "but" that is "yet" in English, my guess is that Polish probably uses the word for "and" with a comma written before it.

[Michauek]

I see the difference now. thanks, Jamie. I will do my best to stop using u instead of you. It's just faster to write...
I'm impressed with your language skills, especially that you can compare the examples to these in my native language.
_________________
Experience is the name everyone gives to their mistakes. Oscar Wilde
Michal. I'm an english student :-)