>Bill, and all,
The Longman grammar has a category they call "linking adverbials,"
which subsumes the adverbials usually called "conjunctive." They list
six semantic categories: enumeration and addition, summation,
apposition (in other words), result/inference, contrast/concession,
and transition. Close to sixty percent come in clause initial
position, about twenty percent each in medial or final position.
One big difference with "but" is that it does not have that
flexibility of movement. When connecting whole clauses, the true
conjunctions are initial.
Craig
>
> Ed's comment made me curious, so I did a quick COCA search. The ratio of
> [". However ," : "; however, "] was 48268: 3627 (or, roughly, 13:1).
> There were 74,389 instances of comma-flanked 'however'; the first few
> screens of these that I looked through all seemed to conform to the
> "post-Subject" or "interrupter" use of the word, but a couple of quick
> sub-searches found instances of "however" used at the end of an
> independent clause which was followed by a second, coordinate clause
> (e.g. "I was astonished, however, and Helmut was too").
>
>
>
> Of that type, there's a predictable (in hindsight, at least) disparity
> between cases using 'and' vs. those using 'but' , with the former much
> more common (the ratio was 1839:127, or roughly 14.5:1). In general,
> 'and' is about six times as common as 'but', so it's probable that at
> least a proportion of that 14.5:1 disparity is just mirroring a more
> basic one. I'm wondering, though, if the fact that "however" and "but"
> share a number of characteristics creates a more dissonant effect when
> they're chained.
>
>
>
> --- Bill Spruiell
>
>
>
> From: Assembly for the Teaching of English Grammar
> [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Craig Hancock
> Sent: Monday, February 14, 2011 11:49 AM
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Re: Conjunctive Adverbs, Prepositions, and Punctuation
>
>
>
> Ed,
> Nicely said. When adverbials move to the front of a clause, they
> very often establish a thematic connection to the sentences before (or
> even anticipate sentences to follow.) They have a strong role in
> establishing the flow of discourse. It seems to me problematic to single
> out a few of those for a special status and then generate a punctuation
> rule to apply only to them. It seems that good writers happily ignore
> the advice.
> These "conjunctive adverbs" are easy to paraphrase. "Therefore" and
> "consequently" can be replaced by "as a result." "Nevertheless" can mean
> something close to "despite that." "On the other hand," in addition,"
> additionally," "as a matter of fact," and "for example" often float into
> that opening slot, doing much the same work.
> "Then" is parallel to "first," "next," "last" or "finally." They open
> sentences up quite often because of their thematic role. "First, we...
> Next, we.... Then, we.... Finally, we....." They are not locked into
> opening position (nor are the so-called "conjunctive adverbs"), but it
> is a natural place for them given their role in the discourse.
>
> Craig
>
>
> On 2/13/2011 1:40 PM, Edgar Schuster wrote:
>
> John,
>
> Although it is not your main concern, I would like to note that a
> conjunctive adverbs MAY be preceded by a semicolon, but in fact these
> words are far more often preceded by a period. This is true even in
> handbooks that continue to tell students to use semicolons in that
> position, and it is definitely true in professional writing of every
> kind I have ever examined. My best guess is that the ratio of period to
> semicolon in contemporary writing is close to 10 to 1.
>
>
>
> Ed S
>
>
>
> On Feb 11, 2011, at 3:57 PM, John Dews-Alexander wrote:
>
>
>
>
>
> I want to check my own understanding of a few things. This message might
> meander, but it goes somewhere, promise!
>
> First, is this a very common punctuation standard?
>
> A conjunctive adverb, when used to join two independent clauses, is
> preceded by a semicolon and followed by a comma unless the conjunctive
> adverb is one syllable, in which case the comma is not necessary.
>
> Following this rule, we would write:
>
> "The first freeze of winter arrived; however, the plants were saved due
> to the gardener's efforts."
>
> "The first freeze of winter arrived; then the gardener wept over his
> dead plants."
>
> Is this a punctuation convention that list members use?
>
> Second, I'd like to ask about the word "then". It seems like a
> prototypical conjunction, functioning to join a concept with a temporal
> modifier. The example above would qualify as would this one, which uses
> the conjunction as an adverbial NOT between two independent clauses:
>
> "You are late. You go, then, to the back of the line.
>
> But what about this:
>
> "He turned the ignition then slammed his foot on the gas pedal."
>
> "Then" is not functioning as a conjunctive adverb. It's neither
> adverbial nor conjunctival (conjunction-like?). In this case is it
> functioning as a preposition? If so, is the verb phrase "slammed his
> foot on the gas pedal" serving as object of that preposition?
>
> Am I on the right track here? I'm trying to answer a student question
> about why our native instinct is to say:
>
> Speaker A: "Who should go first?"
> Speaker B: "You then me." (Instead of "You [go] then I [go].)
>
> Is it "me" because it is serving as object of a preposition ("then")?
>
> Thanks for weighing in on this!
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