But what about Peter's question?
>  I still don't see why they are not just considered adverbs.  Does anyone 
>see it my way?

Perhaps my point was not made very clearly, and it is simply this:  I don't 
really care about the question because the answer doesn't matter - the 
concern in my little corner of the grammar world is how these words are used 
and how to teach them.  Therefore, you can call them whatever you want.  To 
me and my students, it doesn't matter whether they're adverbs or conjunctive 
whatevers.  What they have to learn is how to write transitional phrases 
using these words.

I think that this question and the concern about the answer is an example of 
the disconnect that exists between the various worlds of grammar, 
particularly between the world that cares about things like this, for 
whatever reason, and the world that doesn't care because the discussion is 
irrelevant to most high school students.

In a larger context, it relates to the "scope and sequence" discussion and 
the various other threads devoted to the purpose of grammar and grammar 
instruction.

Geoff Layton

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