?Connectors? are used to link large groups of words: phrases and sentences. You can also use them to connect paragraphs to give them coherence. Sentence connectors are usually placed at the beginning of a sentence and may be categorized as follows:
CONTRAST
1. HOWEVER
- This restaurant has the best kitchen in town. However, their staff are quite rude.
2. IN CONTRAST
- House prices have gone up this year. In contrast, car prices seem to be stagnating.
3. NEVERTHELESS
- I was in so much pain I didn?t want to get up in the morning. Nevertheless, I went to football practice as usual.
4. NONETHELESS
- I don?t think Sean has serious behavioural problems. Nonetheless, I?ll talk to him first thing in the morning.
5. YET
- I?ve asked you a thousand times not to leave your dirty socks on the floor. Yet, you keep doing it.
6. ON THE OTHER HAND
- England has the best language schools. On the other hand, it has the worst weather.
7. BY COMPARISON
- Going out with Jim has its risks. By comparison, being with Tim is as easy as falling off a log.
8. ON THE CONTRARY
- I don?t hate Jim. On the contrary, I?m rather fond of him.
9. INSTEAD
- I didn?t want to take a side in the argument. Instead, I put my headphones on and listened to some smooth jazz.
10. IN ANY CASE
- I was thinking of going round Jim?s place. In any case, I haven?t been invited.
11. ALL THE SAME
- Yes, he?s very good-looking. All the same, I don?t think you should go out with him.
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SIMILARITY
1. LIKEWISE
- You can?t give your phone number to every man who asks for it. Likewise, you can?t go out with everyone who fancies you.
2. SIMILARLY
- You?re not allowed to use your phone here. Similarly, you have to switch it off when you?re in the library.
3. CORRESPONDINGLY
- She?s an excellent photographer. Correspondingly, her paintings are works of art.
4. IN THE SAME WAY
- Cutting down on sugar will help you lose weight. In the same way, doing more exercise will help you get rid of a few kilos.
5. ALSO
- I want to talk to Prince Harry when I?m in England. Also, I want to meet his sister-in-law.
Read more:Difference between COMPARED TO and COMPARED WITH
RESULT
1. AS A RESULT
- I?ve done a pranic healing course. As a result, I?ve been able to cure my neighbour?s sick cat.
2. AS A CONSEQUENCE
- Zack has skipped school on many occasions. As a consequence, he?s failed his French test.
3. THEREFORE
- We?re going to experience some meteor showers in the next few days. Therefore, the number of miraculous self-healings will rise.
4. THUS
- You didn?t tell me you wanted to come. Thus, we won?t be taking you with us.
5. ACCORDINGLY
- Plenty of tourists visit the area in summer. Accordingly, selling hand-made objects is the main source of income for locals.
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SEQUENCING
1. FIRST, FIRSTLY, FIRST OF ALL, IN THE FIRST PLACE
- First of all, I?d like to talk about the benefits of having a pet pig.
2. TO BEGIN WITH
- To begin with, pet pigs are cleaner than dogs.
3. FOR ONE THING
- For one thing, they?re completely loyal to their owners.
4. SECOND, SECONDLY, IN THE SECOND PLACE
- Secondly, their impressive numeracy skills must be mentioned.
5. FOR ANOTHER THING
- For another thing, you might want to consider how cute they look in pyjamas.
6. THIRD, THIRDLY, IN THE THIRD PLACE
- In the third place, you can always count on your pet pig to perform some tricks for you when you?d like to impress a pretty girl.
7. ALSO
- Also, they don?t eat much.
8. BESIDES
- Besides not eating much, they won?t ever chew on your electric cords.
9. IN ADDITION
- In addition, they can be taught to feed themselves if you allow them access to your pantry.
10. FURTHERMORE
- Furthermore, they make wonderful walking buddies.
11. MOREOVER
- Moreover, they?ll show you the way home when you?re drunk.
12. FINALLY
- Finally, pet pigs are fantastic guards. No burglar would ever have the heart to hurt a pet pig.
13. LAST, LASTLY, LAST OF ALL
- Lastly, your reputation as an eccentric will rapidly grow in the neighbourhood if you?re seen walking a pet pig on a leash every morning.
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ORDER OF IMPORTANCE
1. MOST IMPORTANTLY
- I?d like to talk to you about how to keep calm at your workplace. Most importantly, never go to the canteen while your boss is there.
2. PRIMARILY
- You?ll have to focus on your immediate surroundings. Primarily, on your computer screen.
3. ABOVE ALL
- Above all, don?t ever look up from your notes when people are around.
4. MOST SIGNIFICANTLY
- Most significantly, avoid eye-contact at all costs.
5. ESSENTIALLY, BASICALLY (usually spoken)
- How can I put this? Essentially, having an affair with one of your colleagues should be the last thing on your mind.
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PARTICULARIZATION
1. IN PARTICULAR, PARTICULARLY
- Nearly a third of marriages end in divorce. In particular, it?s middle-aged couples that yearn for much more from life.
2. MORE SPECIFICALLY
- Couples tend to argue about financial issues. More specifically, they argue when one of them is out of work.
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EXAMPLIFICATION
1. FOR EXAMPLE
- To solve this problem, you might want to try making small gestures. For example, making your spouse?s favourite meal for dinner or giving him a massage after a tiring day.
2. FOR INSTANCE
- Appreciate the small things your spouse does for you. For instance, leave thank-you notes for them every now and then.
3. TO ILLUSTRATE
- Misunderstandings can be highly destructive. To illustrate, if your spouse sees you with a friend of the opposite sex in a caf, he might not understand why he hasn?t been invited and demand an explanation.
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EXPLANATION
1. THAT IS TO SAY, THAT IS
- Keep romance alive. That is to say, don?t let your lovelife fall into routine.
2. NAMELY
- I have a very good reason for not trusting my ex. Namely, he?s a convicted felon.
3. IN OTHER WORDS
- Don?t be unsociable. In other words, go out and make some friends.
4. PUT DIFFERENTLY
- John has managed to get over Jane. Put differently, he?s started seeing other women.
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EMPHASISING
1. AS A MATTER OF FACT
- I love sleeping with my pet pig. As a matter of fact, I can?t fall asleep unless he?s in my bed.
2. IN FACT
- I told them not to invite Rachel to the party. In fact, I was the only person who saw what a party pooper she really was.
3. ACTUALLY
- I think it would be a good idea to send her some flowers. Actually, you should get her a hundred orchids.
4. INDEED
- He may be the best-dressed man around. Indeed, he has a really good taste in fashion.
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FOCUSING AND LINKING
1. AS FOR (often suggests disinterest or dislike)
- I?m going to Janet?s party at the weekend. As for Mary?s, I think I?ll pass.
2. WITH RESPECT TO
- Starting your own IT company may be the one of the best things you can do right now. With respect to opening a pet shop, it?s hard to say the same thing.
3. REGARDING
- Start your day with making the most important phone calls. Regarding emails, you might put them off until later.
4. WITH REGARD TO
- With regard to handling complaints, you might want to keep in mind that your customers are always right.
5. AS REGARDS
- Working from home has many advantages. As regards disadvantages, it might be difficult to keep your cat off your keyboard.
6. TALKING OF
- Talking of cats, you can?t trust them to keep you company when you need it. They?re quite selfish creatures.
7. AS FAR AS ? CONCERNED
- As far as dogs are concerned, they might give you a chance to get up from your desk and get some exercise during the day.
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CONCLUSION
1. IN CONCLUSION
- In conclusion, it may be said that pigs make the best pets.
2. IN BRIEF
- Meeting my boss at the pub was an interesting experience. In brief, it was a disaster.
3. IN SUMMARY
- In summary, it may not be the best idea to frequent the same pubs as your boss.
4. TO SUM UP
- To sum up, some people are better suited to working from home than others.
5. ALL IN ALL
- All in all, you have to make sure both you and your customers are satisfied with your work.
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CORRECTION
1. RATHER
- I thought it was a good idea to get a ferret. Rather, it had always been my dream to get one.
2. TO BE MORE PRECISE
- You might want to change a few things. To be more precise, I think you should start again from scratch.
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TIME
1. AT FIRST
- It wasn?t a piece of cake to learn English. At first, I couldn?t pronounce all the words correctly.
2. THEN
- Then, I couldn?t spell all the words correctly.
3. AFTERWARDS
- Afterwards, I had a hard time understanding the tenses.
4. LATER
- Later, I couldn?t memorize phrasal verbs and idioms.
5. IN THE MEANTIME
- In the meantime, I was getting some help from MyEnglishTeacher.
6. MEANWHILE
- Meanwhile, I was enjoying my skype lessons more and more.
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DISMISSAL (of what was said before)
1. ANYWAY
- I couldn?t get my head around the Passive Voice. Anyway, I don?t think it?s important to use it all the time.
2. ANYHOW
- Anyhow, I?ve just decided to learn Russian next.
3. AT ANY RATE
- At any rate, I don?t want to become a simultaneous interpreter in five languages.
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