The final sentence is in passive voice ( active voice = " The government sponsored a few contests " ), and the conjunctive adverb " however " needs a semicolon before it and a comma after.
12.
A conjunctive adverb and a comma ( or a conjunctive adverb between two commas ) is not strong enough to separate two independent clauses and creates a comma splice; only semicolons and periods are strong enough to separate two independent clauses without a conjunction.
13.
A conjunctive adverb and a comma ( or a conjunctive adverb between two commas ) is not strong enough to separate two independent clauses and creates a comma splice; only semicolons and periods are strong enough to separate two independent clauses without a conjunction.
14.
:: : : : The However link in the title above says this : " " However " is not a conjunction, but a conjunctive adverb; therefore, when joining clauses with " however ", a semicolon must be used and not a comma . ".
15.
The fourth edition of the American Heritage Dictionary labels plus which " not well established in formal writing "; its editor, Joe Pickett, calls the usage " a bizarre construction that combines two conjunctions and has the force of a conjunctive adverb " ( indeed ! ).
