text: Because strong acids are terrible bases (by definition), conjugate base will never deprotonate the alcohol.  However, because there is an electrophile in solution now (hydrogen ions) and lone pairs on the oxygen in the alcohol (nucleophile) the hydroxyl group (alcohol part) can be protonated to make a great leaving group---water.  Now you have a carbocation that will rapidly react with any close nucleophile in solution, or, more likely, it will form a double bond with another carbon and eliminate another hydrogen in the process.  This is most likely at high temperatures (>150C) and with near-concentrated acid.  Otherwise, there will simply be an equilibrium of the protonated alcohol leaving, and then an oxygen coming back.  \n\nThe reaction you are most likely (and most useful) looking for is an acid-catalyzed dehydration (E1) reaction.