Anyway has two main uses. At the start of a sentence, it means “so”, “moving on” or “well”, and it changes the subject, brings the conversation back to the main point after a digression or wraps it up: Anyway, I should go. At the end of a sentence, it means “despite that” or “in any case”, showing that something happened in spite of everything: It was cold, but we swam anyway. The word is conversational; in an essay, write nevertheless for “despite that”.
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Anyway, + new topic / back to the topic / goodbye; sentence + anyway (= despite that)
- Anyway, that's enough about my holiday. How was your week at work?
- The hotel was a bit far from the centre, but we loved it anyway.
- Anyway, I'd better go. My shift starts at eight tomorrow.
What changed
First versionIt's raining, but I anyway want to go for a walk.
RevisionIt's raining, but I want to go for a walk anyway.
It's easy to put anyway before the verb, where words like still go: I still want to go. But when anyway means “despite that”, it goes at the end of the sentence.
Anyway is written as one word. Any way as two words means “any method”: Is there any way to fix my phone? They sound almost the same, so they're easy to mix up in writing.
Your turn
Sorry, that was my mum on the phone. ___, where was I? Oh yes, the new flat.
Show the answer
Anyway — The phone call interrupted the story, and the speaker is returning to it, trying to remember where they stopped. Going back to the earlier topic calls for Anyway. By the way introduces a new side topic, and there is no new topic here.
Write about a time when something didn't go to plan, but you still did what you intended. Say what went wrong and put anyway at the end of the sentence.
The last train was cancelled, but we got to the wedding anyway.
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