Linkers and connectors

CONNECTORS

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.

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’

. 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 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

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: 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
 Types of Paragraph Connectors in English
Textual connectors are very useful for joining not only sentences but paragraphs as well. In the case of
paragraphs, the use of the correct connectors makes the text coherent and harmonious. They also help
the reader understand the logical relationships that exist between one part and the next.

If you want to make your writing easier to read and more eloquent, using the connectors in the correct
places is a must. That is why we have gathered the most used connectors in English in this article.
Start using them to give your writing more flow and more style.

Connectors Grammar

Different types of connectors are used according to the logical relationship they establish between one
sentence and another. Also known as conjunctions, these linkers can express contrast, cause,
purpose, consequence, addition, and exemplification.

Take a look at this excerpt from The Guardian. How many connectors can you see?

“Now those same 40,000 words meant more than I had previously imagined, I began to feel the
intoxication of complication. Not to mention the fascination of the abomination. I learned, in short, a
new way to read. I’ve always been grateful. I’ve always adored this book. I have been chasing the
same buzz ever since. Yet part of that journey into understanding was also one into disillusionment and
disquiet.”

More importantly, how does the use of those linkers improve the text? Connectors make your writing
more fluent, more interesting, and easier to follow. If you are unsure how to use connectors correctly,
an online English course could help you resolve those doubts really quickly. In the following, we will
present the connectors in English to you, divided into categories. Try adding them to your writing and
watch how quickly it improves!

Contrast Connectors

To show how using connectors can improve your speech, take these two sentences as an example:

She has a lot of money. She takes public transport.

By using a connector, you can combine those two sentences into one, while showing the relationship
between the two halves.

Despite having a lot of money, she takes public transport.

Even though she has a lot of money, she takes public transport.
She has a lot of money, nevertheless, she takes public transport.

The main connectors that indicate contrast are:

Despite, In spite of, Although / Even though, However ,Nevertheless, Still , Yet, Even so On the
contrary ,In contrast, On the one hand ,On the other hand

Cause Connectors
Showing the reason behind an occurrence is something that happens regularly in any language.
Compare
There was a hurricane. Our flight was cancelled.
to
Our flight was cancelled because there was a hurricane.
On account of the hurricane, our flight was cancelled.
To express cause, the main connectors are:
Because, Since, Seeing that, On account of , Due to,

Purpose Connectors
These connectors are used to show the purpose of an action: In order to, So as to , So that

The following example shows how purpose linkers are used:

The man went to the bank. He applied for a mortgage.
becomes
The man went to the bank in order to apply for a mortgage.
The man went to the bank so as to apply for a mortgage.

Consequence Connectors
As shown by their name, these linkers are used to show the consequence of an action: Consequently,
As a consequence / As a consequence of , As a result / As a result of, Therefore

When you use linkers of consequence,

They graduated from university with excellent marks. They received many job offers.
becomes
They graduated from university with excellent marks, therefore, they received many job offers.
They graduated from university with excellent marks. Consequently, they received many job offers.

Addition Connectors
When you want to add additional information to clarify something, there are a number of connectors
you can use: Moreover, Furthermore ,In addition , Besides, What’s more, On top of that
To give an example of this type of connector in use, check out the following.
We are going to study drama this semester. In addition, we will learn how to express ourselves
physically and how to practice good enunciation.

Exemplification Connectors
It is very easy to find linkers for giving examples in use. For example, this sentence uses an
exemplification connector to link it to the previous sentence. The connectors you can use for this are:
For example, For instance

Ordering Paragraphs
When writing longer pieces, it can be helpful to mark your writing with connectors. This helps organize
the paragraphs so that the reader does not get lost along the way.
The following connectors can be used to order paragraphs in an essay.
First Paragraph-- At first sight, First, First of all, In the first place

To start with Second Paragraph: In the second place, Second / Secondly

Conclusion : Finally, In conclusion , Lastly, And finally

Explication Connectors
If you want to repeat what you have said in another way to offer clarity, these linkers are just what you
need : In other words, In short , Above all , At least , Basically, Especially, Essentially, In general, In
particular, More or less

Personal Opinion Markers

Finally, to mark that you will be adding your own personal opinion to a piece of writing, any of the
following connectors can be used:
As far as I am concerned, From my point of view, I agree, I disagree, In my opinion , I think that, It is
true that, Personally, To be honest, To tell the truth
To write well in English, use the connectors that you learned in this article