Using “However,” “Therefore,” and

“Nevertheless” Correctly

by Jean Reynolds, Ph.D.

Most criminal justice careers require a great deal of writing.

Reports, emails, correspondence and other writing tasks need to be sophisticated…

…and grammatical.

The words however, nevertheless, and therefore are extremely useful...

…if you know how to use them correctly.

There are four basic rules for using however, nevertheless, and therefore correctly.

1. You can’t use these words to glue sentences together.

English teachers call this error a “comma splice,” “run-on,” or “fused sentence.”

Now it’s correct. A period and capital letter save the day!

Here are the sentences again. The first one is wrong, and the second one is correct.

Reminder: Use a period (NOT A COMMA) and a capital letter with however, nevertheless, and therefore.

2. Always put a comma after however, nevertheless, and therefore. (Don’t put the comma before these words.)

Here are some examples. Notice the commas.

3. You can use a semicolon and lower-case letter instead of a period and a capital letter.

But you don’t have to use a semicolon! A period is ALWAYS correct.

Here are two more sentences for you to compare.

We’re almost finished! Let’s look at one more way to use however, therefore, and nevertheless.

You can “drop” one of these words into a sentence. Use two commas when you do this.

When you read the sentences aloud, you can hear where the commas go.

Try it yourself!

You can learn more about criminal justice writing at

www.YourPoliceWrite.com.

Everything there is free, and no registration is needed:

www.YourPoliceWrite.com.

If you have questions about grammar, sentence structure, and punctuation…

…here’s a low-cost, practical book that covers sentence patterns, English usage, and police reports.

Criminal Justice Report Writing is available from www.Amazon.com for just $17.95.

View a free sample online.

An e-book edition is available from www.Smashwords.com for only $11.99.

A free Instructor’s Manual is available on request: Send an e-mail to jreynoldswrite at aol.com.