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Is it acceptable to have the joining words meanwhile and however in the middle of a sentence? I have always thought that they should open a sentence, unlike other conjunctions such as because or although which can used at the beginning of a sentence or in the middle.

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One would normally expect to find however at the start of the sentence; however, it could also be used like this. – Brian Hooper May 21 '12 at 10:58

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up vote 5 down vote

If they are inside parenthetical commas, yes.

"The boss, however, didn't agree."
"The enemy, meanwhile, continued to advance."

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I like both examples. (I took the liberty, however, of putting them in a quote box; I hope you don't mind.) Your answer, meanwhile, continues to get upvoted. +1 – J.R. May 21 '12 at 16:18
up vote 4 down vote

These words can be used within parathetical commas (as pointed out by Roaring Fish +1) or as a conjunctive adverb following a semicolon. When used with a semicolon they begin an independent phrase which is linked using the word. For example:

It can occur in both melodic and harmonic lines; however, it is subject to certain restraints. *

While the second independent phrase could stand on its own as a sentence, there may be reasons why one might choose to conjoin the two phrases using a semicolon and the conjunctive adverb.

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