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About Conjunctive Adverbs

By VJ
Here are a few words:
Accordingly
Also
Henceforth
Indeed
In fact
As a result
However
Therefore
Hence
Moreover
Meanwhile
Certainly
Nonetheless
Otherwise
Finally
Incidentally
Likewise
Meanwhile

All of these are adverbs, which can function also as conjunctions. Hence, they are called conjunctive adverbs. An adverb is any term that modifies a verb, adjective, or another adverb, and a conjunction is a term that connects two clauses.

When using conjunctive adverbs, you should follow punctuation rules carefully.

When a conjunctive adverb connects two independent clauses, it is actually like two different sentences. But the second sentence is made to factually depend on the first with the conjunctive adverb. Therefore, the first sentence should end in a semicolon or a period, and the conjunctive adverb should be followed by a comma. Here are examples:

Alan is only a chiropractor; naturally, he has never had the respect of an actual doctor.
James is no longer with the club. Therefore, he didn't join the New Year party.
The organization's funds were tampered with; nevertheless, the trust members had on the chairman never wavered.

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Comments

  1. AnonymousMarch 23, 2009 at 2:14 PM

    Thanks for clearing that up! I often wonder how I should use those; however I was afraid to ask.
    (haha!)

    ReplyDelete

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