CONNECTORS / LINKING WORDS

Sequencing
To list points

First/Firstly/First of all,
In the beginning,
To begin/start with,
In the first place,
Second/secondly,
Then/next/after that/soon,
Meanwhile,
Later/After that
Afterwards,
At last/Eventually/In the end

Exemplifying

To describe
similarity

Similarly/likewise,
In the same way,
Among other things,
To name but two/a few,

Excepting

Apart from..
With the exception of
Except (for)

Generalizing
Making general
statements

In general/Generally,
On the whole/As a rule,
In general terms,

Adding
information

(At the beginning of a sentence:

Giving personal
opinion

- Hes a punk. On top of that,

hes got a criminal record.

Whats more, (spoken)

- Besides being a punk, hes

got a criminal record.

In addition to
Besides

In my opinion/In my view
It seems to me (that)
Personally, /As I see it
I suppose, I think, I believe,
As far as I am concerned
As far as I know
I (strongly) believe (that)
I think/feel (that)/
I may be wrong, but
To be perfectly honest,

Firstly, secondly,
thirdly, finally, lastly

(Connect similar
ideas or
information)

Besides,
Furthermore,
Moreover,
In addition,
On top of that,

+
clause

+ noun/-ing.

For instance/for example,

such as/like
particularly/in particular,
especially,
(more) specifically/including

- In addition to his
appearance, hes got a
criminal record.

(Only in the middle of a sentence:

Being objective
Expressing reality

Actually/In fact,
As a matter of fact,
The truth is (that),

Concluding

In conclusion,
summarizing,
In short/To sum up,

Expressing finality
or purpose

(not) to
+
(fml) in order (not) to infinitive
(fml) so as (not) to
Thats the reason why +clause
Another reason for is

Expressing
contrast

At the beginning of a sentence:

Purpose clause
(oraciones finales)
- We came to the countryside to
find some peace and quiet.
- Handle the flowers carefully in
order not to damage them.
-He chose this university so
that/in order that he could
study Physics.

We are absolutely convinced (that)

I dont believe for a minute (that)
I really dont think (that)
If you ask me
Frankly,

as well as + noun/-ing
also/and
both and
not only , but (also)

so that
sb would/could
(+fml)
do sth
In order that, modal vb+clause

In case

to be prepared for/to
prevent/to avoid +clause

Otherwise
+clause

what will happen

If we dont do sth

Because of
With a view to

sth/

With the intention of doing sth

With the aim/object of
For the purpose of .

(Contrasting ideas or
information)
(oraciones concesivas)
- Although/Even if/Even
though the car is old, it is still
reliable.
-The car is old. It is still
reliable, though.
- Despite/In spite of the rain,
I went for a walk.
- We enjoyed our walking
holiday despite/in spite of
the fact that it was tiring.
- Buying a house is expensive.
It is, however, a good
investment.
- John is very rich but/while/
whereas his friends are
extremely poor.

Sentence. Nevertheless,
Sentence. Even so,
Sent. On the other hand,
Sent. On the contrary,
Sent. Nonetheless,..

+
clause

Either at the beginning. in the middle or at

the end:
On the one hand, (expressing

On the other hand, contrasting ideas)

although/even though/though(end)
despite/in spite of
/the fact that

+noun/-ing
+ clause

In contrast to
Contrary to/Unlike

+noun/pronoun
-ing

However, (at the beg, middle or end)

Whatever/no matter what + clause
Only in the middle of a sentence:

,but /while/whereas (between two main

clauses expressing contrasting ideas)

,yet /,still

Expressing
Cause/reason

Since +clause, main clause

As +clause, main clause
Seeing that +clause, main clause

Expressing time

Reason Clause

Main clause, because(conj) clause

(oraciones temporales)

(oraciones causales)
-We were unable to go by train
because of/due to/owing to
the rail strike.
As a result of the rail strike,
we were unable to go by train.

Main clause because of(prep)

Main clause due to
sth
Main clause owing to
As a result of+sth/doing, clause

Due to the fact that. , clause

In view of sth, clause
In view of the fact that , clause
Having spent sth, clause.
On account of sth, clause

Sentence. As a result, clause

Expressing
Effect/consequence Sent, and, as a result clause

Result clause

Sent, with the result that..

Sent. Resulting in .

(oraciones consecutives)

Sent. Consequently, clause

Sent. In consequence, clause

-We have invested too much

money in this project.
Consequently, we are in
financial difficulties.
- He was so tired that he went
to bed early.
- It was such a difficult exam
(that) he knew we wouldnt
pass.
- It was late, so he decided to
take a taxi home.

Sent. Therefore, clause

Sent, therefore, that.
Sent. Thus, clause
Sent. For this/that reason, claus

when/while/as/after/before +
clause
(before or after the main clause)

Whenever, every time + clause

(often before main clause for emphasis)

- When/While/As I was
driving along the road, I saw a
terrible accident.
- He went out after he had
finished work.

During/all through/throughout
+noun/noun phrase.

-Whenever/Every time I she

him, he is driving a different
car.
-During/All through the
summer we get a lot of visitors.
-It rained heavily throughout
the night.

Till/Untilnoun/clause
As soon as... noun/clause
By the time+ clause

Expressing
condition

Even if.
If you do sth, you will do.
If you did sth, you would do
If you had done sth, you would

(oraciones condicionales)

have done
Unless you do sth= if you dont do
sth
As long as you dont do sth

Provided that
Providing that

So+adjective/adverb that clause

Such+noun (that) clause.

Whether you do sth or not.

Sent, so clause

Expressing
Comparison
1-My sister is almost as tall as me/as I am.

2.a)The play was much better than I expected.

2.b)This jacket is slightly cheaper than that one.
2.c)The taxi driver drove faster and faster.
Its getting more and more difficult to make ends meet nowdays.

As if
As though
1-Modifiers:
almost, just
nearly, half,
twice,
three times..

+ as as

2-Modifiers with comparatives:

a)to show a big difference:

far/much/a lot +comp adj/adv

much/far/a lot more +U noun
many/far/a lot more +plural C nouns
b)to show a small difference:

slightly/a little/a bit +comp adj/adv

a little/slightly/a bit more +U noun
a few/slightly/a bit more +plural C nouns
c)Repeat comp for emphasis:
3-It was by far the nicest of all the hotels we stayed at.
4-The more dangerous a sport (is), the more exciting it is to watch.
-The bigger the car (is), the more expensive it is to run.
-The faster I speak in English, the more mistakes I make.
-The more coffee you drink, the less well you sleep.
-The bigger, the better.
-The more, the merrier.

you do sth

more and more + adjective

taller and taller or adverb
3-Modifiers with superlatives
By far/much/easily + sup. adjs
nearly/almost
or advs
4-the the + comparatives
things change or vary together