Common Writing Errors 4: The Proper Use of ‘However’

Hello Everyone

Sometimes, it seems to me that a common writing error decides to swarm for no apparent reason. In the last week, one error in particular infected a few online articles I read, some of which were from reputable sources. That error was an apparent inability to use the word ‘however’ correctly.

(Source here)

A news article about the use of iPads in schools had the following:

She denied the school had an exclusivity agreement with Apple, however details about how to buy Apple products remain on the school's website.

There are two separate ideas in this sentence and a full stop or a semi-colon should have separated them:

She denied the school had an exclusivity agreement with Apple. However, details about how to buy Apple products remain on the school's website.

She denied the school had an exclusivity agreement with Apple; however, details about how to buy Apple products remain on the school's website.

Note the use of a comma after ‘however’ in both versions. This is the proper way to punctuate a conjunctive adverb, which normally acts to join two independent clauses.

Another article made the mistake of not using the comma when faced with the same ‘two independent clauses’ structure:

They were probably used as ritual or ceremonial objects; however these artifacts were important for the expansion of a civilization as well.

In other parts of this article ‘however’ was used to introduce an independent clause and a comma was used as it should be:

However, it is unlikely that the jade axes were used to cut large quantities of wood.

If you hadn’t realised, this is the same structure as the first italicised sentence above.

Of course, the adverb itself can be used in the middle of a sentence, as in the following case:

Objects like the Canterbury jade axehead, however, were not used for farming, they were symbols of status.

This sentence, however, has another type of error. It actually contains two independent clauses and the comma after ‘farming’ should be a semi-colon:

Objects like the Canterbury jade axehead, however, were not used for farming; they were symbols of status.

One of the times a comma isn’t used with ‘however’ is when the word is part of a dependent clause, as in the sentence below:

However you define it, success relies on a mix of talent, hard work, and luck.

Then there's the construction in the illustration below, where 'however' is part of a noun phrase:

(Source here)

I hope these examples clarify the usage of ‘however’ for you. If you have any other grammar problems you want me to tackle, please let me know in the comments.

Thanks, and warm wishes

Earl