Select the correctly punctuated sentence in this group. a) Ms. Espinoza has offered to coach the team this year, however, the competition for the job is intense. b) Ms. Espinoza has offered to coach the team this year, however the competition for the job is intense. c) Ms. Espinoza has offered to coach the team this year; however, the competition for the job is intense.

The correct answer is:

c) Ms. Espinoza has offered to coach the team this year; however, the competition for the job is intense.

Explanation:

The word 'however' is used in different ways in a sentence, and I will explain each of the different ways it is used and the punctuation rules to obey.

1. Using 'however' as an adverb for conjunction.

This is exactly how it is used in our example in this question. "However" can be used to join two sentences, to form a compound sentence that has a relationship of that of a contrast, and when is is used thus, it is preceded by a semi-colon (; ) and followed by a comma (,). like it is used in option 'c' in this example; Ms. Espinoza has offered to coach the team this year; however, the competition for the job is intense. Another example is; He studied hard to pass the test; however, he did not make it.

2. 'However' can be used to start a sentence, and when it does, it is followed by a comma, and a complete sentence. For example; However, I would like you to come back tomorrow.

3. 'However' can be used to interrupt a sentence, when used this way, it is preceded by a comma, and followed by another comma. For example; She is, however, not telling the truth

4. Finally, 'however' can be used to imply 'by whatever means', 'in whatever manner' or 'to whatever extent'. When used in any of these manners, it is not preceded or followed by a punctuation. For example; I will prepare it however you want me to. However you wish to do it, go ahead