Conjunctive Adverbs

What Are Conjunctive adverbs?

Conjunctive adverbs are modifiers that describe a relationship between two clauses. They act as transitional phrases and connect ideas of one sentence or clause to those of a previous sentence or clause. Conjunctive adverbs can appear anywhere in a sentence.

Two Purposes of Conjunctive Adverbs:

• Show Relationship - The primary purpose of conjunctive adverbs is to show a relationship between ideas in two separate clauses, not simply to join clauses. When two clauses are related by a conjunctive adverb, they must be separated by a period or a semicolon.
  
  
       Ex: John did not want to go to the library on Friday. However, he knew he needed to write his paper.
  
  
       Ex: John did not want to go to the library on Friday; however, he knew he needed to write his paper.

• Provide Transition - All conjunctive adverbs are transitional. They can be used to compare, contrast, show sequence, indicate time, etc.
  
  
       Ex: The pasta is good; however, the mystery dish is disgusting.

Conjunctive Adverbs Can Be Moved Within a Sentence:

 

Commonly Used Conjunctive Adverbs:
accordingly	for example	meanwhile	otherwise
also	further	moreover	similarly
anyway	furthermore	namely	still
as a result	hence	nevertheless	then
at the same time	however	next	thereafter
besides	incidentally	nonetheless	therefore
certainly	indeed	now	thus
consequently	instead	on the contrary	undoubtedly
finally	likewise	on the other hand

Remember:
The primary purpose of conjunctive adverbs is to show a relationship between ideas in two separate clauses, not simply to join the clauses.