| Adding and | Contrasting | Expressing cause / reason |
| *and as well as besides Moreover, Furthermore, What is more, In addition, not only .... but also another point is that relative clauses who where that ,which whose to whom when what why | *but However, Although despite In spite of Nevertheless, On the contrary, on the one hand on the other hand, whereas while but while In contrast, Neither...nor | because as since This is why because of Due to Owing to For this reason, Expressing effect / result *so so....that such a...that Therefore Thus Consequently, As a result, too...for/to not enough...for/to |
| Narration | Expressing purpose |
| First (of all) At first At the beginning In the beginning then next Before After After that afterwards When While during Soon prior to | immediately Once Suddenly As soon as on No sooner....than Hardly...when Finally Eventually At the end In the end At last To begin with, until | to so as to in order that so that for (Non-specific) Expressing opinion I would say that In my opinion, I think (that) I believe (that) Personally Apparently, |
| Giving examples | Summing up / concluding | Emphasis |
| for example, for instance, For one thing, this includes such as e.g.. (for example) i.e. (that is) | All in all overall generally In conclusion, on the whole in the main To sum up, | especially particularly Naturally, exactly because above all Whatever Whenever too / enough The more .... |
* Avoid starting a sentence with these words.
The linking words beginning with a capital letter often start a sentence, For those without, position in a sentence is optional.
Exercise. Join the sentences with a suitable conjunction. There may be more than one possible variant.
I went to bed early. I would be able to get up early.
I don't really want to go to the cinema tonight. I can't afford it.
There is very little that the company can do about this. It is not their responsibility.
She's extremely generous. Her husband is the exact opposite.
He looks a bit overweight. He is quite fit.
The economy has been in recession all year. Our sales have remained steady.
The Government are getting worried. They are losing popularity.
I'm staying in all weekend. I can get my work done.
He'd like to be an actor. His father would like him to be a lawyer.
I won't believe you. I've seen it for myself.
I didn't feel very well. We decided to leave early.
I'll come with you. We don't stay late. I need to be up early tomorrow.
I hear from you. I assume you are coming.
A person may take a driving test. They have not already taken a test within the previous fourteen days.
I didn't contact you. I'd lost your phone number.
The performance was cancelled. Everyone got a refund.
The annual outing has been postponed till next week. The weather has been inclement.
You take this road. I'll take that, and we'll see who arrives first.
He is a bit stupid. He is very kind.
Arrange the sentences in paragraphs. It makes reading easy.
Write the sentence again, using the word in brackets. The meaning must stay exactly the same.
1. She is a very good English speaker. You would think it was her native language.
___________________________________________________________________ (so)
2. There were so many people in the room that we couldn't move.
___________________________________________________________________ (such)
3. We missed the film because there was such a lot of traffic.
___________________________________________________________________ (so)
4. I can't wear this coat in winter, It's not warm enough.
___________________________________________________________________ (too)
5. When he speaks English, I can't understand what he says.
___________________________________________________________________ (enough)
6. We lost the match although we were the better team.
___________________________________________________________________ (despite)
7. In spite of not having eaten for 24 hours, I didn't feel hungry.
___________________________________________________________________ (even though)
8. Despite her injured foot, she managed to walk to the village.
___________________________________________________________________ (although)
9. The football match is still going on.
___________________________________________________________________ (yet)
10. Has Jane got divorced yet?
___________________________________________________________________ (still)
11. Jack used to have long hair and a beard.
___________________________________________________________________ (no longer)
12. I was feeling tired.
___________________________________________________________________ (any longer)
13. I wish I could speak English as well as you do.
___________________________________________________________________ (like)
14. Both in January and in February, the price of basic foods rose.
___________________________________________________________________ (as)
15. He had hoped to do better in the examination.
___________________________________________________________________ (as....as)
16. John is younger than he looks.
___________________________________________________________________ (as....as)
17. Tom is 16 years old, and so is Fred.
___________________________________________________________________ (as....as)
18. He used to be a doctor.
___________________________________________________________________ (as)
19. You're not reading that newspaper. Can I read it?
___________________________________________________________________ (as)
20. He was sitting on the beach when the sun rose.
___________________________________________________________________ (as)
21. You can go to the party if you don't come home very late.
___________________________________________________________________ (as....as)
22. When he arrives, we'll go.
___________________________________________________________________ (as....as)
23. They think that he is the best person for the job.
___________________________________________________________________ (as)
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