CONNECTORS / LINKING WORDS

CONNECTORS / LINKING WORDS

1.Contrast

On the other hand
In contrast
on the contrary
conversely
however
yet
still
nonetheless
nevertheless
even so
in spite of this
despite that/this

a. Direct Opposition

Ahmed worked hard. On the other hand/In contrast/ However,

Hussein hardly did any work at all.

Majdoub is lazy. However, his brother is quite diligent

(=hard working).

George is an optimist. In contrast/However, Bill is a pessimist.

Extroverts love crowds. In contrast, introverts prefer solitude.

She is not ugly. On the contrary, she is a good-looking girl.

I don't hate classical music. On the contrary, I'm very fond of it.

Six is more than five; conversely, five is less than six.

b. Denial of Expectation (Unexpected result)

She studied diligently for several months. Nevertheless/However/

Yet/Nonetheless, she failed.

George is very handsome. Yet, he is not popular with girls.

My uncle is 70 years old now. Nonetheless, he maintains his

interest in legal matters.

It's raining. Even so, we must go out.

2.Result

as a consequence
accordingly
for this/that reason
therefore
as a result
consequently
hence
thus
because of that / this

He passed his exams. Therefore/Thus/Hence/Accordingly/

Consequently,he had some good news to tell his parents.

Professor Brown is an outstanding scientist. Hence, he

is highly respected.

He has been studying hard for a long time. Thus, he has

made considerable progress.

He lacks self-confidence. As a consequence, he is unlikely

to be successful.

The demand has increased sharply. Accordingly, the prices

are higher now.

3. Addition and Listing

also
besides
further
moreover
furthermore
in addition
first (firstly, first of all, to begin with, in the first
place, for one thing )
secondly (second, in the second place, for another thing)
thirdly (third, in the third place)
finally, lastly, last of all

Amine plays football. Moreover/ Besides/ Also, he runs

a restaurant.

Nihad writes short stories, in addition, she writes articles

for a newspaper.

To prepare his homework, Jack went through various history

books. Furthermore, he took notes from several encyclopaedias.

During her spare time, Aicha practices the piano; in addition,

she plays the violin.

I prefer to buy fruits and vegetables in the open market because

they are quite cheap there. Besides, they are much fresher than

fruits and vegetables sold at the greengrocers'.

Living in a big city offers good job opportunities. Also, it

provides good educational opportunities.

Ali does not have a gift for music. Moreover, he lacks motivation

to practice music. Therefore, he can'tbecome a good musician.

Owning a car has some advantages. First (First of all/Firstly/

To begin with), it gives you comfort.

Secondly, it saves you a lot of time. Thirdly, it gives you

great freedom of movement.

4. Time

at first
afterwards
later
then
in the meantime
meanwhile

I read the morning papers for a while. Afterwards, I took a shower.

First pick up the receiver and then insert a coin into the coin-box.

At first, I had great difficulty with grammar Later, however ,

I was able to overcome these difficulties by studying hard.

The party is Tuesday, but in the meantime I have to shop and

prepare the food.

They'll be here soon. Meanwhile, let's have coffee.

5. Exemplification

for instance
for example
to illustrate

Women generally live longer than men. For instance, in the

United States life expectancy for women is 75, while it is 73

for men.

Earthquakes can be highly destructive. To illustrate, the

earthquake which occurred in Agadir in 1960 devastated the

whole town, killing more than 15,000 people.

6. Particularization


in particular
particularly
specifically

Shopping in small markets is quite advantageous. In particular,

one can find specialty items that larger stores do not contain.

We still needed to arrange several details for the trip.

Specifically, we had to make plane and train reservations

as well as decide on the final itinerary.

7. Explanation


that is
namely
in other words
that is to say

The brochure dealt with travelling in Morocco. That is /In other

words/ Namely, it discussed transportation, currency, and language.

The machinery was not impaired; that is, it wasn't damaged.

Good readers should be able to read between the lines; that is,

they should be able to make inferences (=to draw conclusions)

about information that is conveyed indirectly or given only

partially.

There is only one topic to discuss, namely, the question of

discipline.

As a child grows up, he learns how to behave in ways which are

appropriate to the society into which he is born. That is to say,

he acquires the patterns of behaviour which are accepted as

normal in his society.

8. Similarity

Likewise
similarly
correspondingly
by the same token
in the same way

Men must wear a jacket and a tie; similarly, women must wear

a skirt or a dress, not trousers.

She was late and I similarly was delayed.

You can't teach navigation in the middle of a storm. Likewise,

you can't build a system of values in the current educational

climate.


9. Emphasis


in fact
indeed
as a matter of fact
actually

He is quite wealthy. In fact, he is one of the richest men

in town.

I like reading. As a matter of fact, it is my favourite pastime.

Moussa is a highly talented musician. Indeed, he has an extraordinary

gift for music.


10. Reformulation

in other words
to put it in a different way
put differently

He is a conservative. In other words, he favours the preservation

of old institutions in their original form.

Is there a cheaper solution? In other words, can you make a

cheaper device?

11. Correction

rather
to be more precise

He is enjoying himself. Rather, he seems to be enjoying

himself.

This system must be improved. Rather, it must be thoroughly

changed.

Her name is not Margaret. Rather, it is Margot.

12. Transition

as for
as to
with regard to
with respect to
as regards
regarding
as far as…… is concerned

Both Riad and Walid are my friends. Riad studies law at

Yale University. As for Walid, he studies mechanical

engineering at MIT.

As far as comfort is concerned, a car is definitely much

better than a bicycle. On the other hand, with respect to

convenience, it is difficult to say the same thing.

MIT and CTI are similar in several respects (=ways). First,

they are both technical universities. Secondly, they are

alike as regards the courses offered.

Sony, which is $550, is much more expensive than Grundig,

which is $440. However, as far as quality is concerned

(With regard to/ As regards quality), the former is far

better than the latter.

13. Negative Condition

or else
otherwise

I must leave now, or else I'll be late.

You must study hard. Otherwise, you may fail.

14. Summation / Conclusion

in summary
in brief
in short
in conclusion
to be brief
to sum up
all in all

This is our most disastrous and embarrassing defeat ever;

in short, it is a fiasco.

The system lacked originality, efficiency and ingenuity.

In conclusion, it was a complete failure.

15. Other Sentence Connectors

after all: considering all the factors in the situation

I don't think he should be punished for breaking the window.

After all, he's only five years old.

incidentally/by the way (used to introduce an additional

point that the speaker has just thought of)

Some people, and incidentally that includes Robert, just

won't look after themselves properly.

above all (=more than anything else)

He misses all of us, but he longs above all to see his

family again.

all the same: even so, nevertheless, in any case,

I like him; all the same, I don't trust him.

anyway, anyhow, in any case

I wasn't asked; anyway/anyhow/in any case, I wasn't

keen to go.

instead (used to indicate contrast)

Mary did not answer. Instead she looked out of the

taxi window.