Which is correct?

[jimmiej]

I'm writing a paper. Which one is correct as far as punctuation?

a) They are, however, highly recommended.

b) They are however, highly recommended.

c) They are, however highly recommended.

d) none of the above (show me the correct way)


I have it as "a" now, but it looks funny. Thanks.

 

[KathyTX]

A.

 

[KarenC]

Grammar check doesn't complain about either a or b. Read it outloud and put the commas where you want to take a breath.

When my daughter was writing papers in high school, she was always accused of being "comma happy" so I guess the preference is for fewer commas, not more.

 

[Rippington'sFan]

I don't know...my guess is "B".

 

[Galahad]

I would user "However, they are highly recommended".

 

[TheBellhop]

A

 

[krissy3483]

i would go with A because that is how most people would read it: they are.....however......highly recommended. B would work fine too.

 

[stinkerbelle]

Originally posted by Galahad
I would user "However, they are highly recommended".

ooo...I like this best.

But out of the other options, A sounds best to me. (that's how I write, of course, with the commas there.)

 

[NMAmy]

I'm a secretary at a college and proofread on a daily basis (although you may not always be able to tell from my typing here!)

A is correct. Don't you hate it when you do something correctly but it just looks weird?

 

[buzzlady]

I would say "a". From what I remember the "," surround the word/s that you could take out and the sentence would still be fine without the word/s.

 

[missy28]

I have a degree in English, with a focus on grammar, but it's been so long that I may be wrong-- I'm going with A. The reason being that however, as you have it in the sentence, is an "interrupter", a "throat clearer" is what we used to call it, so it should be offset by itself with commas. I hope I'm remembering correctly!!

 

[tc]

"A", or what Galahad said. If you can remove it from the sentence, and the sentence still makes sense, put in between commas.

You sentence can read, "They are highly recommended," therefore, "however" should be between commas.

 

[jrydberg]

A. is definitely the correct version. The word "however" interrupts the rest of the sentence. Therefore it should be set off by commas.

 

[krissy3483]

Originally posted by Galahad
I would user "However, they are highly recommended".

that would work fine too if you attached it to the end of the sentence before it, the sentence may end up being rather long though.

 

[jkovick]

A.

 

[tar heel]

Definitely A.

I was taught in Journalism School to never begin a sentence with "however."

 

[Galahad]

Ah......Didn't go to journalism school. I always try to reduce the number of commas and clauses, and phrases and such and make the sentence as simple as possible.

 

[caitycaity]

Originally posted by jrydberg
A. is definitely the correct version. The word "however" interrupts the rest of the sentence. Therefore it should be set off by commas.

Use commas around words or phrases-including appositives--that are not essential to the meaning of a sentence. (An appositive renames in different words a nearby noun.) Study the comma use in the following examples: "The teacher, however, did not agree." "Bob Alien, who is the city's mayor, spoke at the library today." "Ottawa, the country's capital, is beautiful." (See also PU-11a.)

http://www.ucalgary.ca/UofC/eduweb/grammar/marking/puncmark.htm