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 idea which marks a 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 because always 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 separated from the 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 noun phrase.

. 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 can be placed at the beginning or in the middle of the
sentence. If it is placed at the beginning we need to use a comma after the
clause.
‘Although / though / even though / in spite of the fact that the pupils had
not studied, they all passed their exams’.

. 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 it’s 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’

. moreover, 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 paragraph

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 paragraph
In the second place: En segundo lugar
Second: Segundo
Secondly: En segundo lugar
Third: Tercero
Thirdly: En tercer lugar

Conclusion

Finally: Por último

In conclusion: Para concluir
Lastly: Por último
And eventually: Y finalmente

Adding information

apart from: Aparte de

in addition: Además
in addition to: Además de
What’s more: Además; lo que es más
moreover: Además
on top of that: Además
besides: Además
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 razón
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 razón...
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 mí 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 opinión
in my view: según 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

Explaining
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: básicamente, fundamentalmente
especially: especialmente, sobre todo
essentially: esencialmente
in general: en general
in particular: en particular
more or less: más o menos
on the whole: en general
to a certain extent: hasta cierto punto

Exemplifying
and so on: etcétera
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: después 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, después
while: mientras
 ACTIVITIES

A) Fill in the correct connectives and linking words from the

list. There may be more than one answer in some
sentences.

AS LONG AS – BECAUSE - DESPITE – DUE TO - EVEN THOUGH –

HOWEVER - IN CASE - IN SPITE – NEVERTHELESS - THEREFORE

1. Take your camera with you, just _____________________ mine

doesn't work.
2. _____________________ having muscle problems, the defender
was able to play.
3. Bring an umbrella with you _____________________ it rains
tomorrow.
4. Skiing is a safe sport _____________________ you obey the rules
on the slope.
5. All flights to and from London have been cancelled
_____________________ fog.
6. They arrived in time for the meeting _____________________
having to travel in bad weather.
7. I like travelling by underground, _____________________ it gets
pretty crowded during rush hours.
8. She has been living in the country her whole life.
_____________________, she has decided she wants a change and
plans on moving to the city.
9. We had a wonderful time in Barcelona. _____________________,
transport workers were on strike so we couldn't use the underground.
10._____________________ life was hard during the war, we
managed to survive.
11._____________________ heavy traffic on the motorway, we
couldn't make it in time.
12._____________________ of the low temperatures during the
winter, Moscow is always worth visiting.
13.I can't come now _____________________ the children are ill,
and I have to look after them.
14.The economy collapsed, _____________________ the
government had to resign.
15.You may go out with your friends tonight,
_____________________ you never go alone and stay with them all
the time.
16.I already knew a lot about cybersecurity.
_____________________, the lecture was quite interesting.

B) Fill in the correct connectives and linking words from the

list. There may be more than one answer in some
sentences.
ALTHOUGH - AS A RESULT – AT LEAST – HOWEVER - IN CASE -
INCLUDING – IN OTHER WORDS - IN THE MEANTIME - ON ONE
HAND - ON THE OTHER HAND – ON THE CONTRARY - OTHERWISE -
THEREFORE

1. Sea levels will probably rise in the next few decades

__________________________ of global warming.
2. I hope he drives carefully, __________________________ he may
have problems on such a slippery road.
3. The president was not a very popular leader.
__________________________, his resignation did not come as a
surprise.
4. Our economy will not improve this year.
__________________________, all projections show that it will get
worse.
5. The couple broke up a few days ago.
__________________________, they are still living together
because of the children.
6. __________________________ it was a wonderful place to go
skiing, not many tourists found their way there.
7. The scientist studied the behaviour of various animals,
__________________________ whales and dolphins.
8. __________________________ we have to fight against
environmental problems, but __________________________ we
need more and more energy every day.
9. I think he’s asleep. __________________________ his eyes are
closed.
10.The candidate didn’t quite meet the necessary requirements.
__________________________, he failed.
11.Please take some warm clothes with you, just
_______________________ it gets cold at night.
12.The report will be finished soon. __________________________,
let’s get some coffee.

C) Fill in the correct connectives and linking words from the

list.

although - as well as - both - despite - due to - during - even

though - however - in addition - in order to - neither … nor -
so that - therefore - whereas - which - while

1. __________________ we were driving through the Lake District,

we saw many picturesque villages.
2. __________________ having lost only one match this season, we
didn’t win the championship.
3. Flight attendants who apply for a job must be able to speak
__________________ English and Spanish.
4. I started learning Chinese ________________ my stay in the Far
East.
5. This is Jimmy’s new bike, __________________ he got from his
parents. He locks it up every evening __________________ nobody
can steal it.
6. She gets up early __________________ be in time for work.
7. The climate in South Africa is perfect. It’s __________________
too hot __________________ too cold.
8. This cell phone tariff costs 8 cents per minute,
__________________ the other one offers a flat rate.
9. __________________ my father likes country music, he rarely
listens to it on the radio.
10.__________________ to the six air bags, the car also has a
built-in security system.
11.The company manufactures cars __________________
motorcycles.
12.__________________ we hadn’t eaten for over twelve hours, we
weren’t very hungry.
13.My sister invited me to her party. __________________, I was so
busy I had to tell her I couldn’t come.
14.I arrived late for the performance __________________ a traffic
jam on the motorway.
15.He spent most of his time playing with his friends.
__________________, he wasn’t well prepared for the exam.

D) Fill in the correct connectives and linking words from the

list below.

AS WELL AS - DURING - BECAUSE - EITHER …. OR - NEITHER ….

NOR - WHEN - ALTHOUGH - UNLESS - WHICH - SO THAT - THEN - SO
- DESPITE - WHILE - SUCH AS - HOWEVER

1. ____________________ Dad comes home from work he has to lie

down on the sofa ________________ he is tired.
2. Jerry had a bad headache yesterday, _______________ he
couldn’t come to football practice.
3. This is Jimmy’s new mountain bike, ____________________ he
got from his parents. He locks it up every evening
_______________________ nobody can steal it.
4. ____________________ Samantha was tired, she watched TV
until well after midnight.
5. First, cut out the pictures, ____________________ paste them
into your book.
6. I would like to learn Chinese. ____________________, I don’t
know anyone who can teach me.
7. ____________________ we were driving through the countryside,
we saw many picturesque villages.
8. The Hemingways are our neighbours ____________________ our
friends.
9. You can have _______________ tea ____________ coffee for
breakfast. What would you like?
10.____________________ being a great skier, only few people
outside of Europe know him.
11.____________________ the hike up the mountains we saw a lot
of deer.
12.________________ you finish the essay by tomorrow you won’t
be able to get a good mark.
13._______________ my father _______________ my mother will
be able to attend the meeting tomorrow.
14.He likes all kinds of sports, ____________________ skiing,
hockey and volleyball.