Linkers and connectors

LINKERS
Contrast

. In spite of / Despite Link two contrasting ideas. Followed by a noun phrase.

. Although / (Even) though Link two contrasting ideas. Followed by a sentence.
. However / Nevertheless / Still / Yet / Even so / On the contrary / In contrast. Introduce a new
contrast with previously stated ideas. Introduced by a comma.
. On the one hand ... On the other hand. Links two contrasting ideas / paragraphs.
. In contrast to / Contrary to. Link two contrasting ideas. Followed by a noun phrase.
. Whereas Link two contrasting ideas. Not separated by commas.
Reason and cause
. Because / As / Since / Seeing that Introduce a sentence. Subordinate sentences introduced by
appear in final position.
. Because of / On account of / Owing to / Due to. Introduce a noun phrase.
Purpose
.
.

In order to / So as to Introduce an infinitive of purpose.

In order that / So that Introduce a sentence.

Consequence
. Consequently / As a consequence / As a result / Therefore
. As a consequence of / As a result of Followed by a noun phrase.
. So Introduces a sentence. No commas.
Addition

. Moreover / Furthermore / In addition / Besides / What's more Used after a strong pause and s
sentences. They are introduced by a comma.
. As well as / In addition to / Besides Used to add one more piece of information. Followed by a
. Exemplification
.

For example / For instance Introduces an example referring to previously stated ideas.
Such as Introduces an example referring to the last idea.

CONNECTORS
Contrast
. but / yet: followed by a noun phrase or a sentence.
The book is short but / yet interesting
. in spite of / despite: It is placed at the beginning or in the middle of the sentence.
He arrived on time despite / in spite of getting up late

although / though/ even though / in spite of the fact that: followed by a complete sentence. They
beginning or in the middle of the sentence. If it is placed at the beginning we need to use a comma af
Although / though / even though / in spite of the fact that the pupils had not studied, they all passed
. however, nevertheless, even so, on the one hand, on the other hand, on the contrary:
He was quite ill however/ nevertheless/ even so, he went to school
. while, whereas
This film is very interesting, while/whereas that one is quite boring
Reason and cause
. because, as since, seeing that:
Because / as / since / seeing that its late, we should go home
. because of, on account of, owing to, due to:
Because of / on account of / owing to / due to the weather, we stayed at home
. in order to, so as to, to:
She uses her video in order to / so as to / to record TV programmes
Add information
. for example, for instante, such as:
Vegetables are a good source of vitamins: for example / for instance, oranges have vitamin C
. more over, furthermore, besides, in addition to:
In addition to soul music, she likes rap
. apart from, except for:
Apart from English, she speaks French.
Succession

. - First of all / Firstly / To begin with / First .

- Second / Secondly / Then
- Third / Thirdly / After that...
- The next stage
- Finally / in short / to sum up / in conclusion / lastly / last but not least
Result
. As a result of:
As a result of his brave action, he was awarded a military medal.
Therefore, as a result, consequently, for this reason:
Consequently / for this reason, it always passes its annual road test.

Order
First parragraph
At first sight: A primera vista
First: En primer lugar
First of all: Antes que nada
In the first place: En primer lugar
To start with: Para empezar
Second parragraph
In the second place: En segundo lugar
Second: Segundo
Secondly: En segundo lugar
Third: Tercero
Thirdly: En tercer lugar
Conclusion
Finally: Por ltimo
In conclusion: Para concluir
Lastly: Por ltimo
And eventually: Y finalmente
Adding information

apart from: Aparte de

in addition: Adems
in addition to: Adems de
Whats more: Adems; lo que es ms
moreover: Adems
on top of that: Adems
besides: Adems
On the one hand: Por una parte
On the other hand: Por otra parte
and eventually: Y finalmente

Contrast
all the same: a pesar de todo
however: sin embargo
instead of: en vez de
in spite of / despite: a pesar de
nevertheless: no obstante
on the contrary: por el contrario
whereas / while: mientras
though / although: aunque

Reason
because of + noun: a causa de
due to + noun: debido a
due to the fact that + sentence: debido a que
for this / that reason: por esta / esa razn
owing to + noun: debido a
owing to the fact that + sentence: debido a que

Result
as a result: como resultado
because of: a causa de
consequently: en consecuencia
so: por lo tanto
that's why: por eso, por esa razn...

therefore: por lo tanto

Expressing facts
actually: en realidad
as a matter of fact: de hecho
in fact: de hecho
really: en realidad

Expressing a personal opinion

as far as I am concerned por lo que a m respecta
from my point of view desde mi punto de vista
I agree estoy de acuerdo
I disagree no estoy de acuerdo
in my opinion en mi opinin
in my view segn lo veo
I think that creo que
it is true that es verdad que
personally personalmente
to be honest, para ser honesto
to tell the truth, a decir verdad

Explain
that is (to say): es decir
in other words: en otras palabras
in short: en resumen
above all: sobre todo
all in all: en general
at least: al menos
basically: bsicamente, fundamentalmente
especially: especialmente, sobre todo
essentially: esencialmente
in general: en general
in particular: en particular
more or less: ms o menos
on the whole: en general
to a certain extent: hasta cierto punto

Exemplifying
and so on: etctera
for example: por ejemplo
for instance: por ejemplo
such: as tal(es)como

Summarizing
all in all: en suma
in brief: en resumen
in conclusion: Para concluir
in short: en resumen
on the whole: en general
to sum up: Para resumir

Sequencing
after that: despus de eso
all of a sudden: de repente
Finally: Finalmente
First of all: En primer lugar
in the end: al final
in the meantime: mientras tanto
meanwhile: mientras tanto
next: luego
suddenly: de repente
then: entonces, despus
while: mientras
Using Linkers

In addition to the categories of vocabulary you have already learnt, there are other
lexical (vocabulary) forms that support our expressions in composing a good
paragraph. One such classification of lexis is linkers. Linkers are also called
transitions or discourse markers. They help us establish our ideas explicitly. Linkers
make it easy for us to compare, contrast, illustrate, define, and summarize our
thoughts and develop coherent paragraphs. This unit introduces some linkers that
help you to write a descriptive paragraph.

What are linkers?

Linkers are words that relate one idea or sentence of the text with another.
They connect the ideas logically.

Why are they used?

They give direction to the writer. They are also used to guide the reader
through his thoughts. They make the meaning specific.

How to choose a linker?

Meaning is the first and the most important criterion in choosing a linker. The
second is the logical relation that needs to be made distinctly clear. For example,
linkers like because, so and therefore express logical relations which are different
from those expressed by although, but and nevertheless.

What is their use in descriptive paragraphs?

It is important to use linkers while describing a person, place or thing. They
help us in listing facts chronologically, linking events across time, comparing and
contrasting sketches, explaining graphic images and illustrating the main idea.

Listed below are some of the important linkers. Let us now learn them.
type of linker
examples
broad meaning
example
cause and effect
because, so, accordingly, thus, consequently, hence, therefore, as
introduces a reason and shows result
We had to wait because, it was raining.
comparison

similarly, likewise, whereas, but, on the other hand, except, by comparison, when
compared to, equally, in the same way
identifies similarities between two ideas
Life is difficult in extreme polls; similarly, it is horrible near the Equatorial regions.
contrast
but, however, yet, still, even though, nevertheless, on the other hand, otherwise,
after all, for all of that, on the contrary, notwithstanding, in contrast, unlike,
whereas, instead of, alternatively, although
identifies differences between two ideas
Raj did not perform well in the exam; nevertheless, he got a distinction in English.
time
at once, immediately, meanwhile, at length, in the meantime, at the same time, in
the end, when, then, as, before that, after that
indicates time and frequency of events
The bell rang and the students left immediately.
addition
and, also, even, again, moreover, further, furthermore, similarly, in addition, as well
as
adds ideas in support of the main idea
It is very hot today; moreover, there is a power outage.
example
for example, such as, for instance, in this case, in another case, on this occasion, in
this situation, in this manner, to illustrate
introduces illustrations in support of the main idea
I think he is very rich; for example, he gave a hundred rupee note to a beggar.
sequence
first, second, third, next, then, following, now, at this point, after, after this,
subsequently, eventually, finally, previously
shows the importance of the ideas by listing according to the priority

There is a students procession today; therefore, they diverted the traffic.

summary
in brief, on the whole, in sum, to sum up, thus
draws conclusion by summarizing the ideas
It is a love story, the actors performed well, the direction is excellent, the settings
are beautiful; in brief, it is a good film.
Let us look at the linkers used in our model paragraph:
The Human Body
The human body is a wonderful piece of work that nature has created. It is not
beautiful like the body of a butterfly or a peacock but it is shaped practically. It can
do many types of work which other animals cannot. It is not strong like the body of
a tiger.But in place of physical strength it has a big and sharp brain. By using this
brain the human physique has been able to overcome many of its limitations. By
sitting in an aeroplane it flies faster than a kite, by riding a motorcycle it travels
faster than a leopard, and by firing a machine gun it fights much better than a
tiger.In spite of all this, the human body suffers from many diseases because it has
a weakness for habitssuch as smoking, drinking and overeating.When it is healthy
the body can give great pleasure but when it is sick it can cause great pain. The
wise man would always keep his body fit because a healthy mind can work only in a
healthy body.

Some of the linkers in the paragraph are but, in spite of, such as, when, because.
But is a linker that speaks of the contrast of beauty and strength between animals
and the human body.
In spite of is also a linker that contrasts the strength of the human body with its
weaknesses.
Such as is a linker that illustrates the weaknesses of human body by naming them.
When is a time linker that tells us what happens at the time the body is healthy or
sick.
Because is a linker that states the reason for keeping the body fit and healthy.