Alex? That Alex? No, not \emph{that} Alex!: However, in Addition to Moreover, Furthermore is Overused: Linking Sentences and Clauses

This article was written for the PPI Göttingen website as an addition to the 9^th May episode of Chatting Penting. You can read it there in PDF form; my version is found below.

In the 9^th May radio programme, Chatting Penting, Adnan asked a question regarding the use of words such as “furthermore”, “moreover”, and “additionally”. These words, known as conjunctive adverbs, link sentences, and serve only to inform readers of the fact that two sentences or clauses are related. As such, their purpose in English is limited, and only rarely do they add anything of substance to a sentence. Because many people use them too often, however, a common result is sentences that are cluttered, boring, and even confusing and unreadable.

Specifically, Adnan wanted to know when it was most appropriate to use conjunctive adverbs, how to avoid using the same ones repetitively, and how to keep two sentences or clauses related without using them. This article is a guide on how to do so.

How conjunctive adverbs are used

If you are using a conjunctive adverb to mark the beginning of a clause it must follow either a period (.) or semicolon (;). They can be found in the beginning, middle, or end of a clause. When they appear in the beginning of the clause, they are followed by a comma; if they are at the end, they are preceded by a comma.

However, the cat was asleep.
The cat was asleep, however.

The two above examples are functionally similar. Most of the time, you will be fine placing the conjunctive adverb in the beginning or end of the clause or sentence simply for variation.

Types of conjunctive adverbs

You can find a comprehensive list of the different types of conjunctive adverbs, along with examples of them, here. This link is referred to as Table 1.

Table 2 shows the different ways of using the different types. Even though every sentence uses the same words—“cold”, “snow”, “parka”, or “shorts”—the context is changed by the conjunctive adverb.

Table 2. Sentence examples of different conjunctive adverb types.

No.	Type	Usage
1	Addition to the previous clause	Today was cold. Moreover, it snowed.
2	Comparing to a point in the previous clause	Today was cold. Similarly, yesterday was cold.
3	Conceding a point made in the previous clause	Today was cold. Of course, it is winter.
4	Concluding based on a point made in the previous clause	Today was cold. Therefore, I wore my parka.
5	Contrasting a point made in the previous clause	Today was cold. And yet, everyone wore shorts.
6	Emphasising a point made in the previous clause	Today was cold. In fact, it snowed.
7	Example of a point in the previous clause	Today was cold. After all, it snowed.
8	Summarising the previous clause	Today was cold. In summary, it snowed and I wore my parka.
9	Space shift between the previous and present clause	Today was cold. Elsewhere, it was warm.
10	Time shift between the previous and present clause	Today was cold. Lately, it has been snowing.

This is one way in which using a conjunctive adverb is beneficial to a sentence, as it gives it meaning. If we remove “similarly” from the second example, we have, “Today was cold. Yesterday was cold.” While this still makes sense, the idea that you are comparing days is not very strong. The same is true of the third and fourth examples; saying it is winter is a plain sentence instead of a concession, while saying I wore a parka is similarly just stating a fact instead of concluding that, based on it being cold, I wore my parka. In the fifth example, removing “and yet” removes the meaning of the sentence; and the same is true for the ninth example, where “elsewhere” helps us understand that it is a reference to a different location, instead of if being a contradictory statement.

However, in some examples, the conjunctive adverb is not necessarily needed. “Today was cold. It snowed,” is fine. You can get away with removing the conjunctive adverb, because we can assume that the reader will see the connection between today being cold and it snowing. But notice how the conjunctive adverb slightly changes the meaning of the two sentences, allowing us to specify how the reader should read the true meaning of what is being said, whether it is adding extra information (1), emphasising that it is cold (6), or providing proof of it being cold (7).

Appropriate conjunctive adverb usage

As with everything else in English, you should only use these words when you mean to. A paragraph with too many conjunctions is ugly and redundant. On the other hand, one with zero may seem random and without connection. The trick is to find the balance between the two. Three rules I follow to do this are:

Know what words I plan to use, and plan how I will be using them.
Never use a certain conjunctive adverb (i.e. the same word) more than twice per page, and optimally once or not at all.
Never use the same sentence construction (or syntax) consecutively. E.g. “Furthermore, today was cold. However, everyone wore shorts.” It is better to say, “Furthermore, today was cold. Everyone wore shorts, however.”

These rules force me to know how to use a word and be consistent with it, to use it sparingly, and to maintain variation in a paragraph, the latter of which is not hard (Table 3). You can expand the second rule to only having one or two conjunctive adverbs per paragraph, forcing yourself to write tighter sentences.

Table 3. Variations of "however".

Variant	Notes
However, our results differed from those of Smith (2000).
However, our results differed from those of Smith (2000).	Emphasis is on your results.
Our results differed, however, from those of Smith (2000).	Emphasis is in your results being different. This would come after sentence of your results being similar.
Our results differed from those of Smith (2000), however.

Table 4. Incorrect and correct conjunctive adverb usage.

No.	Incorrect	Correct
1	Moreover, today was cold. Furthermore, it snowed.	Moreover, today was cold and it snowed.
2	Today was cold, however everyone wore shorts.	Today was cold; however, everyone wore shorts.
3	Today was cold. Meanwhile, it was warm.	Today was cold. Elsewhere, it was warm.
4	Today was cold. Conversely, everyone wore shorts.	Today was cold. However, everyone wore shorts.

Table 4 shows bad conjunctive adverb usage. The following explain why each incorrect example is wrong:

Repetitive and redundant.
"However" is used as the beginning of the clause, but the comma means it's just a pause, not the end of the clause. A semicolon or period is appropriate.
Word meaning: “meanwhile” does not mean “elsewhere”, just because it’s the same type of conjunctive adverb.
Word meaning and context: “conversely” means opposite, so it is not merely a contrasting statement, but an opposing one. Everyone wearing shorts is not the opposite of it being cold.

Alternatives to conjunctive adverbs

The best alternative to a conjunctive adverb is no alternative at all. That is, if your sentence is strong enough, it will not need something to link it to the previous one, and while they are useful in many cases (as in the beginning of this sentence), you should always aim for variety.

The easiest ways of avoiding a conjunctive adverb are to subtly reference the previous sentence with words such as “these”, “this”, or “those” (Table 5); combine the sentences, especially if they are short enough (Table 6); invert the sentence structure (Table 7); or use a variation of the conjunctive adverb (Table 8).

Table 5. Using words to imply similarity.

Example	Notes
All of the cats slept throughout the day. This suggests that cats are lazy.	“This” instead of “therefore”, “hence”, etc.
All of the cats slept throughout the day. They are lazy.	“They” to reference the cats.
In addition to the cats’ laziness, we found them to be mischievous.	“In addition to” serves as a reference, instead of reading “In addition, we found the cats to be mischievous.”

Table 6. Combining sentences instead of using a conjunctive adverb.

Incorrect	Correct
I’m going to cook mie goreng. However, I need to boil water first.	I’m going to cook mie goreng, but need to boil water first.
I’m going to cook mie goreng. Then, I’m going to make a cup of tea.	I’m going to cook mie goreng, and then make a cup of tea.
I’m going to cook mie goreng. Meanwhile, I will make a cup of tea.	I’m going to cook mie goreng, while making a cup of tea.
All of the cats slept throughout the day. Therefore, cats are lazy.	All of the cats slept throughout the day, suggesting that cats are lazy.
All of the cats slept throughout the day. In conclusion, cats are lazy.	All of the cats slept throughout the day, leading us to the conclusion that cats are lazy.
Today was cold. Therefore, I wore my parka.	Today was cold, so I wore my parka.

Table 7. Inverting sentence structure.

Incorrect	Correct
All of the cats slept throughout the day. Therefore, cats are lazy.	Cats are lazy, as all of the cats slept throughout the day.
I’m going to cook mie goreng. However, I need to boil water first.	I need to boil water because I’m going to cook mie goreng.

Table 8. Using a variation of the conjunctive adverb.

Incorrect	Correct
Cats sleep all day. Consequently, they are perceived as lazy.	The consequence of cats sleeping all day is that they are perceived as lazy.
Firstly, boil water.	The first step is to boil water.
Overall, the result is that cats are perceived as lazy.	The overall result is that cats are perceived as lazy.

As always, do not overuse any of these examples. Use all of them in addition to conjunctive adverbs.

Conjunctive adverbs are useful and sometimes critical to sentences. They can give meaning and context through the addition of one, simple word. However, they should only be used for those purposes, not just because you can. Write good, logical sentences, and only then decide if they need additional words. Most of the time, you will find that a strong sentence is good enough on its own.