“But” is not a conjunctive adverb; it’s a coordinating conjunction. This means it can join two independent clauses in one sentence when preceded by a comma. For example, “I wanted to buy a new car, but I didn’t have any money.”
Conjunctive adverbs, such as “however,” can’t join two independent clauses in this way. They need to be preceded by a period or a semicolon and followed by a comma: “I wanted to buy a new car; however, I didn’t have any money.”
QuillBot’s free Grammar Checker can help ensure you use conjunctive adverbs correctly.
Continue reading: Is “but” a conjunctive adverb?
Adverbial clauses are often classified based on the role they play in a sentence. Some of the most common categories are:
- time (e.g., “before the rain starts”)
- place (e.g., “where the sea meets the shore”)
- purpose (e.g., “in order to win the race”)
- manner (e.g., “as if she could fly”)
- condition (e.g., “if we leave now”)
- concession (e.g., “although Paris is nice”)
- comparison (e.g., “as smart as he is”)
Continue reading: What are the types of adverbial clauses?
An adverbial clause is a group of words with a subject and a verb that functions as an adverb in a sentence to modify the main clause (e.g., “until Leo comes back”).
An introductory adverbial clause (sometimes called a fronted adverbial) appears at the beginning of a sentence (e.g., “Until Leo comes back, we won’t be able to start cooking”). Introductory adverbial clauses are always followed by a comma.
Continue reading: What is an introductory adverbial clause?
Yes, all adverbial clauses (e.g., “because I am thirsty”) are dependent clauses (that is, they can’t stand on their own as a sentence). There are other types of dependent clauses as well: adjective clauses and noun clauses.
Continue reading: Are adverbial clauses dependent clauses?
