| Conjunctive adverbs (or sentence connectors or transitional words) join sentences, not parts of sentences. In choosing a conjunctive adverb to use in connecting sentences, the relationship between the sentences that are to be connected is very important. When what happens in one sentence is the result of what happened in the preceding sentence, only a few conjunctive adverbs can be used. The most common ones for this situation are therefore, as a result, consequently, and accordingly. All of these mean the same thing and are used in the same way.
Examples:
Situation: It rained very hard
Result: The game was cancelled.
It rained very hard; therefore, the game was canceled.
It rained very hard; as a result, the game was canceled.
It rained very hard; consequently, the game was canceled.
It rained very hard; accordingly, the game was canceled.
Situation: Meg was exhausted
Result: She went to bed as soon as she got home
Meg was exhausted; therefore, she went to bed
as soon as she got home.
Meg was exhausted; as a result, she went to bed
as soon as she got home.
Meg was exhausted; consequently, she went to bed
as soon as she got home.
Meg was exhausted; accordingly, she went to bed
as soon as she got home.
Special Notes:
| 1. | | Conjunctive adverbs can also be used after periods:
It rained very hard. Therefore, the game was canceled.
It rained very hard. As a result, the game was canceled.
It rained very hard. Consequently, the game was canceled.
It rained very hard. Accordingly, the game was canceled. |
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| 2. | | Sentences showing results can also be joined by using because and so, but the punctuation is different:
It rained very hard, so the game was canceled.
The game was canceled because it rained
very hard.
Because it rained very hard, the game
was canceled.
Note that a comma, not a semicolon, is used
with so. Note, also, that when because is in
the middle of a sentence, there is no comma,
but when it is at the beginning of a sentence,
there is a comma. |
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