Too often we all see sentences mispunctuated like these:
1. WRONG He arrived 15 minutes late, however, he found a seat.
2. WRONG He arrived 15 minutes late, however he found a seat.
Each of these sentences consists of an independent clause, then the conjunction however, and then another independent clause.
Rule: When however is sandwiched between two independent clauses, it requires a semicolon either before or after it—usually before.
Why? Because however is one of the conjunctions that may either begin or end the clause.
Example:
3. “My work is like a diary,” Picasso told me, and I have taken him up on this. One has to tread carefully, however. Diaries are nonetheless interesting for embroidering upon the truth. (House & Garden magazine, March 1991, p. 28)
The second sentence ends, quite correctly, with “however.” The period could (also correctly) have been a semicolon.
If however appears between two independent clauses, the reader needs to know whether it ends the first clause or begins the second one. This information is provided by the semicolon:
4. CORRECT He arrived 15 minutes late; however, he found a seat.
5. ALSO CORRECT: He arrived 15 minutes late. However, he found a seat.
Other “two-direction” conjunctions or conjunctive phrases include therefore,
consequently, in fact, and of course.
© 2012 Rosemary Camilleri. All rights reserved.
