comma vs semicolon before 'however' [difference?; adverb]

[angel heart1]

Hi,

Please, what is the difference between the following patterns of punctuation?

1. Semicolon + transitional expression + comma
2. Comma + transitional expression + comma

For example:The UConn women's basketball program is among the nation's best; however, they play in one of the weaker conferences.Why, there is a semicolon before "however" and a comma?

Thanks.

Source: http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/quizzes/punct2_quiz.htm

 

[lucas-sp]

Why is there a semicolon before however?

Because it connects two independent clauses.

Why is there a comma after however?

Because we like "logical connectors" to be distinct from the clauses in which they appear.

These are two separate questions. Even if the sentence was written with a period, there would still be a comma after "however":

The UConn women's basketball program is among the nation's best. However, they play in one of the weaker conferences.

 

[scrotgrot]

Just to say, we don't always mind logical connectors not being distinct from their clauses:

The ... program is among the nation's best; however, they play in one of the weaker conferences.
The ... program is among the nation's best, although/but they play in one of the weaker conferences.

The comma after however is because it's an adverb moved from its normal position as a rhetorical device rather than due to a syntactic process. However is not strictly a connective in the same way although.but is, which is why it doesn't have a comma after.

 

[lucas-sp]

Whoops, I see I was unclear. I was discussing logical connector adverbs like "however," "nevertheless," "subsequently," "furthermore," etc.

The comma after however is because it's an adverb moved from its normal position as a rhetorical device rather than due to a syntactic process.

I'm not sure if I agree with this, however. Where would the "normal" place of a sentence-modifying or situational adverb like "however" be? I think it's more rhetorical to put "however" in the middle or at the end of a sentence, whereas it's most common to see it at the beginning of a sentence.

 

[Keith Bradford]

I don't disagree with what's been said above, but think however is a special case. If you didn't put a comma after however, the reader would begin to read the second clause as something like: ... however they play in one of the weaker conferences, they still lose. In order not to send your reader off along such a false track, it's pure politeness to use the comma. The "rules" are mere descriptions, coming after good usage.