however

[sejpdw]

"She hit all her physical milestones early, however there were things that weren't developing."
I've seen this sentence in a book. I think "however" in it should be changed into "although" because this sentence needs a conjuction which connects two clauses. I know sometimes "however" can be used as a relative adverb in addition to an adverb, in "However you look at it, you can't criticize that." or "She has the window open, however cold it is outside."
However, I think the above sentence is different from those two examples with proper "however" usage. What's your opinion? If "however" in the above sentence is right, what is its grammar function and meaning?

[Marius Hancu]

The sentence is OK. See (2, 2) here:

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/however%5B1%5D

EDIT: The link should be:

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/however

[Pete]

"She hit all her physical milestones early, however there were things that weren't developing."
I've seen this sentence in a book. I think "however" in it should be changed into "although" because this sentence needs a conjuction which connects two clauses. I know sometimes "however" can be used as a relative adverb in addition to an adverb, in "However you look at it, you can't criticize that." or "She has the window open, however cold it is outside."
However, I think the above sentence is different from those two examples with proper "however" usage. What's your opinion? If "however" in the above sentence is right, what is its grammar function and meaning?

The sentence is OK. See (2, 2) here:

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/however%5B1%5D
The definition in the given link does say that "however" can be used as a synonym for "although", but it definitely lists that use as "archaic". It is good to know archaic meanings of words in order to read material that was written when the use was current; only in extraordinary circumstance would you want to write or speak in an archaic style.

Using "although" would, as sejpdw suggested, make a correct sentence. Another correction would be to change the second clause to an independent clause (either by changing the comma to a semicolon or by splitting the sentence into two sentences). Then the word "however" would be an introductory adverb for the second clause, and the meaning is essentially the same. I would put a comma after "however" as well, but I'm not certain it is necessary.

[MrPedantic]

I would agree with "insert semi-colon + comma", i.e.

1. She hit all her physical milestones early; however, there were things that weren't developing.

MrP

[Marius Hancu]

Pete:

Sorry, the wrong link was somehow inserted, it should be:

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/however

Select (2) from the dropdown and read meaning (2) there and you will get:

-----------
Main Entry: 2 however
Function:adverb
Date:14th century

1 a: in whatever manner or way <shall serve you, sir, truly, however else — Shakespeare> b: to whatever degree or extent <has done this for however many thousands of years — Emma Hawkridge>

2: in spite of that : on the other hand <still seems possible, however, that conditions will improve> <would like to go; however, I think I'd better not>

3: how in the world <however did you manage to do it>
--------------

[MrPedantic]

<would like to go; however, I think I'd better not>



<thumbs up>

MrP

[OddThomas]

Many writers place commas after conjunctive adverbs (however, nevertheless, consequently, and so forth) as a matter of course. This is good practice, but may not be mandatory. Introductory elements, among which are conjunctive adverbs, typically require commas to set them off as an aid to the reader in interpreting the structure of the sentence. For short introductions this may not be necessary (see this very sentence). Accordingly, it may not be error to leave the comma out following a conjunctive adverb of one word.

The conjunctive adverb however presents a special case in that it can easily deceive the reader into believing it to be a typical adverb, only to disappoint at the end. It is easy to write a clause that presents however in this mixed role:however[,] he was able to do it.
Without the comma, the clause reads: in whatever manner he was able to do it. With the comma, the clause reads: by contrast, he was able to do it.

My point is that the comma is essential if the writer intends the latter meaning, above, and if the clause is vulnerable to the misreading shown. The corollary is that the comma is never wrong, but not mandatory; the risk is the writer's.