Conjunctive Adverbs

With a little help from our friends, Penelope Choy and Dorothy Goldbart Clark, who wrote Basic Grammar & Usage, 8^th Edition, comes this useful information:

Conjunctive adverbs- take the place of coordinating conjunctions and join two independent clauses together.  They are especially frequent in formal language, in which expressing the precise relationship between ideas is the goal.  Here are the most frequently used conjunctive adverbs:

Also                    furthermore       indeed               Nevertheless    otherwise           therefore

Anyway               hence                 instead              next                   still                     Thus

Besides               however             in addition        meanwhile         nonetheless        then

Consequently     likewise              finally               incidentally        moreover

                         )

Conjunctive adverbs do two things at once- they connect, like other conjunctions, and it modifies, like other adverbs.  Because it is adverbial, it can be located in many places in its own clause. Because of this, it does not always come exactly between the two clauses (like coordinating conjunctions), and so, a semi-colon must be used.  Check out these examples:

1.  Kyle loves wax; therefore, he eats crayons every day.

2. His mom, however, thinks he has a major problem.

Notice that the conjunctive adverb is always set off with a comma, or two commas, in its own clause.

Conjunctive adverbs are very insecure, and so, they must be surrounded by punctuation.

1.       Harry the Horse lives in Hawaii; however, he only surfs on the weekends.

(Notice the semicolon connects the 2 independent clauses, and the comma surrounds however).

2.       Harry the Horse eats carrots and hay. In addition, he eats apples and grass.

(In addition is the conjunctive adverb and it is surrounded by a period and a comma).

3.       Harry the Horse, nevertheless, sneaks in a few brownies when no one is looking.

(Nevertheless is surrounded by commas).

Don’t let those conjunctive adverbs be without their punctuation; they get scared.