ACT Preparation / Unit 1 ACT 0016 worked example, 60 to 90 seconds
However Between Two Clauses
The idea
When however, therefore or another transitional word sits in the middle of a sentence, the punctuation before it decides whether the sentence is correct. Step one: check whether the words on each side form a complete sentence. Step two: if both do, the mark before the transitional word must be a semicolon or a period; a comma there is a splice. Step three: if only one complete clause is present, the transitional word is interrupting it, and a comma on each side is correct.
In practice
Worked example: "The tickets sold out, however, a second show was added." Both sides stand alone, so the first comma must become a semicolon: "The tickets sold out; however, a second show was added." Compare "The second show, however, sold out too." Here however interrupts one clause, so the pair of commas is right.
Where people slip
The same word takes different punctuation in the two sentences, so a memorized rule about the word fails half the time. Decide by the clauses on either side, never by the word.
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