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Paul responds (a bit acerbically) to Sue Luke's comments on the use of
"however":
>Why "however"? I recently encountered a manager who said he had been taught
>that however is a conjunction and should be used basically the same way you
>use "but."
The dictionary was right, but you mention an important modifier that they left
out. "However" is a conjunctive adverb, which probably explains why it is
often misused as a coordinating conjunction. (See CMoS, 14th ed., sec. 5.90).
The whole point of using a conjunctive adverb is to indicate some kind of
relationship between two clauses (in this case, a contrary relationship).
These transitional words are not vital, but they can create a greater sense of
cohesiveness between elements in a paragraph. If brevity and economy of
language is a desired, conjunctive adverbs are dispensable.
Bill Burns *
Assm. Technical Writer/Editor * LIBERTY, n. One of imagination's most
Micron Technology, Inc. * precious possessions.
Boise, ID *
WBURNS -at- VAX -dot- MICRON -dot- COM * Ambrose Bierce
