Linking words help you to connect ideas and sentences, so that people can follow your ideas.
Giving examples
For example
For instance
Namely
The most common way of giving examples is by using for example or for instance.
Namely refers to something by name.
"There are two problems: namely, the expense and the time."
Adding information
And
In addition
As well as
Also
Too
Furthermore
Moreover
Apart from
In addition to
Besides
Ideas are often linked by and. In a list, you put a comma between each item, but not before and.
"We discussed training, education and the budget."
Also is used to add an extra idea or emphasis. "We also spoke about marketing."
You can use also with not only to give emphasis.
"We are concerned not only by the costs, but also by the competition."
We don't usually start a sentence with also. If you want to start a sentence with a phrase that means also, you can use In addition, or In addition to this…
As well as can be used at the beginning or the middle of a sentence.
"As well as the costs, we are concerned by the competition."
"We are interested in costs as well as the competition."
Too goes either at the end of the sentence, or after the subject and means as well.
"They were concerned too."
"I, too, was concerned."
Apart from and besides are often used to mean as well as, or in addition to.
"Apart from Rover, we are the largest sports car manufacturer."
"Besides Rover, we are the largest sports car manufacturer."
Moreover and furthermore add extra information to the point you are making.
"Marketing plans give us an idea of the potential market. Moreover, they tell us about the competition."
Summarising
In short
In brief
In summary
To summarise
In a nutshell
To conclude
In conclusion
We normally use these words at the beginning of the sentence to give a summary of what we have said or written.
Sequencing ideas
The former, … the latter
Firstly, secondly, finally
The first point is
Lastly
The following
The former and the latter are useful when you want to refer to one of two points.
"Marketing and finance are both covered in the course. The former is studied in the first term and the latter is studied in the final term."
Firstly, … secondly, … finally (or lastly) are useful ways to list ideas.
It's rare to use "fourthly", or "fifthly". Instead, try the first point, the second point, the third point and so on.
The following is a good way of starting a list.
"The following people have been chosen to go on the training course: N Peters, C Jones and A Owen."
Giving a reason
Due to / due to the fact that
Owing to / owing to the fact that
Because
Because of
Since
As
Due to and owing to must be followed by a noun.
"Due to the rise in oil prices, the inflation rate rose by 1.25%."
"Owing to the demand, we are unable to supply all items within 2 weeks."
If you want to follow these words with a clause (a subject, verb and object), you must follow the words with the fact that.
"Due to the fact that oil prices have risen, the inflation rate has gone up by 1%25."
"Owing to the fact that the workers have gone on strike, the company has been unable to fulfil all its orders."
Because / because of
Because of is followed by a noun.
"Because of bad weather, the football match was postponed."
Because can be used at the beginning or in the middle of a sentence. For example, "Because it was raining, the match was postponed."
"We believe in incentive schemes, because we want our employees to be more productive."
Since / as
Since and as mean because.
"Since the company is expanding, we need to hire more staff."
"As the company is expanding, we need to hire more staff."
Giving a result
Therefore
So
Consequently
This means that
As a result
Therefore, so, consequently and as a result are all used in a similar way.
"The company are expanding. Therefore / So / Consequently / As a result, they are taking on extra staff."
So is more informal.
Contrasting ideas
But
However
Although / even though
Despite / despite the fact that
In spite of / in spite of the fact that
Nevertheless
Nonetheless
While
Whereas
Unlike
In theory… in practice…
But is more informal than however. It is not normally used at the beginning of a sentence.
"He works hard, but he doesn't earn much."
"He works hard. However, he doesn't earn much."
Although, despite and in spite of introduce an idea of contrast. With these words, you must have two halves of a sentence.
"Although it was cold, she went out in shorts."
"In spite of the cold, she went out in shorts."
Despite and in spite of are used in the same way as due to and owing to. They must be followed by a noun. If you want to follow them with a noun and a verb, you must use the fact that.
"Despite the fact that the company was doing badly, they took on extra employees."
Nevertheless and nonetheless mean in spite of that or anyway.
"The sea was cold, but he went swimming nevertheless." (In spite of the fact that it was cold.)
"The company is doing well. Nonetheless, they aren't going to expand this year."
While, whereas and unlike are used to show how two things are different from each other.
"While my sister has blue eyes, mine are brown."
"Taxes have gone up, whereas social security contributions have gone down."
"Unlike in the UK, the USA has cheap petrol."
In theory… in practice… show an unexpected result.
"In theory, teachers should prepare for lessons, but in practice, they often don't have enough time."
59 comments on “Linking words”
I'm not a story teller therefore, it is always difficult for me to start telling a story or writing a letter. Due to the lack in my English, I feel stuck most of the time not to be able to express mylself freely. I wish, one day that I can pass that barrier.
Thank you so much. I had not already seen a collective of linking words!I believe hoestly that your prepared list will be useful for learners.Thank you again.
I found it is helpful to all students for the writing practice.
Thank you so much… there is a short list of linking words in my book but i want to get a better grade and i find this very helpfull. thank you!
Thank you so much, this site really helped me prepare for my English exam.
thanks this helped alot with essay coursework on Macbeth and how to arrange sentences and sound smart! LOL
xx
Linking words are wonderful and useful. Most important is your EZ explanations that hardly can find in other websites.
Allen kay
I'm in the process of writing a discursive essay, and was tired of using the same linking words to convoy the two diffrent sides of an arguement. This has really helped. Thanks
Thanks for that! It'll be a great help!
I was just looking for a well ordered list like that.
~
Very good site especially for an English Trainer like me. Found appropriate supports for my lessons.
i have always been looking out for linking words . this has been very useful as my students will be able to use this as a guide . thanks a lot
thank you very much!!You have summarized all linking words and rescued me from studying the 'refining composition skills' over there on my table… thanks thanks thanks!
I highly appreciate the way the linking words are presented here.Thank you very much.
Which word should I use to link two contradictory versions of two parties?
For instance, I want to link the following sentences:
1. Microsoft chief executive Steven A. Ballmer said that the economics demanded by Yahoo do not make sense (but) (. However, …)
2. Yahoo officials described the amount by Microsoft to be less than what they expect.
Although Microsoft chief executive Steven A. Ballmer said that the economics demanded by Yahoo do not make sense,
2. Yahoo officials described the amount by Microsoft to be less than what they expect.
This information has simplified my job. My student will be over the moon when they get this!
Are there different meanings or structures between " although/ even though " and " despite / in spite of"
Ex : He goes to school although he is sick
or : He goes to school despite he is sick
Yes. Your second sentence is incorrect, as we follow "despite" with a noun, gerund, or "the fact that" if we have a noun and verb.
He went to school despite his illness / being ill / the fact that he was ill.
I can't find the word 'thus' in this list. Would you mind to explain that one as well? Thanks in advance.
"Thus" is a formal word meaning "therefore". I didn't put it on the list because it is so formal, and we tend to use other words, such as "therefore" or "so".
can you give me informatino about " so that / so…that / in order that / in order to " . what is the differences between them ? and We can use one of them in which cases ? thanks.
… in order that + clause (noun, verb)
… in order to + verb
both " so that " and " in order that / in order to " is used to show the purpose . So , When we use " so that " and when we use " in order that / in order to " ? thanks
I have read in my grammar that "Besides" is mostly used in negative sentences rather than in positive ones. Is that right?
In can mean "what is more" in a negative way:
I don't want to go swimming. The pool is crowded with children and the water is dirty. Besides, I've just washed my hair and don't want to get it wet again."
You missed out – ON THE ONE HAND – ON THE OTHER HAND….
what's the difference between despite and in spite of?
There's no difference in meaning or in usage.
It was really helpfulfor me Thank You
These words are kinda helpful for people who aren't used to write English a lot. In Germany you need to write lots of free texts and comments, and words as you listed them are always helpful to express yourself better than before and to emphasize special passages of the text. Thank you for this article! ^-~
Love the collection, very useful for my report.
Very interesting and useful terms. It reminds me what I've learned but never or somehow forgot to use in practice.
I am doing the ielts and for essays we have to use a lot of linking words. This site is so helpful, thanks a lot. I will recomment to ielts students.
awesome!!I hope it will help me with the toefl!!
i'm from spain and i have a big problem: linking my texts
this page is the solution
thanks
Thank you very much for these , they really useful especially for Academic writing. Hopefully to use it in my final exam ,,,,
:D
thanks sooo much! I was stuck in the middle of an essay and when I finding this helped me a lot!
Really, these linkers are not only useful but also purposeful and fruitful as they were explained in a very delicate way that help those who are after enhancing their writing namely academic writing. Endless thanks and appreciation for the person who stands behind this lesson.
Khaled EL_Beyaly
Teacher of English Language
United Arab Emirates.
tomorrow i have my EAP exam in the university and i have to write an argumentative essay this linking words helped me a lot thanks to this site
I´m a first certificate studient, i think that excersice is so good for learners!
thanks!
hi,thanks for your great website!ihave question:in this sentence we should not use "however" yes?:although she was blind,deaf & dumb,however she was very intelligent.
No, you can't use "however" because you already have "although" at the beginning of the sentence.
hi, whats the problem with this sentence:"as for as the acting ,though,i felt many amatures could have done better."what does "as for as "mean here?
thanks,
It means "as far as the acting is concerned…"
sorry caimin,did you notice its as fOr as not as fAr as?the sentence i said is not totally correct.do you know why?
It should be "as far as" not "as for as".
thank you so very much, i needed this to write the executive summary for my project
Keep this up, inform me on how you think i can support you
This was very helpful for a project! Thanks for posting. I needed it for an essay and it helped me tremendously. Thanks again!
This is a great help for me to pass the Bulats test
i realy have a problem please help.Can you start a statement with linking words and if you can,which ones are advisable to use?
Yes, you can start a sentence with some linking words:
Although…
Despite…
However, …
Since / As / Because…
Firstly / Secondly / Finally
To be sure that you're using them correctly, check the page first – or feel free to ask me here or in the Help Me! forum.
Thank you so much. This helped me on a report that's very very complex. :)
This is one the most useful things I've found on the web :D
just want to know is there a proper place in a sentence where to write also?
I mean aside from not using it as a start sentence? Can i say …
She did it also or
She also did it.
Thanks a lot
My instinct would be to put it before "did", but I don't think it's grammatically wrong to put it at the end of the sentence either.
hi i think this is very useful for students who are going to take an english examinations .thanxs for giving these tips to me………..
what's the difference between (and) & also in usage?
And connects things in a sentence, or adds things to a list. Also adds another reason.
After reading this part, I see it is interesting for learners who are non- native language people. If you are preparing for English tests such as: TOEIC, TOEFL, IELTS…etc, It is useful for you.
Thank you very much.
Is "In a nutshell" formal?
No, not particularly. You could use it in all situations, except for perhaps academic reports.
Thank you for presenting comprehensive list on Linking Words.
May I print them for my students?
Babul Nokrek
Lecturer in English
St. Joseph College, Dhaka
Bangladesh
Yes, of course!
thanks a lot,it help me to shorten time to prepare my writing work because my next lesson is about linking words:D
Thanks for listing all the important linking word.This is really helping to use linking word in proper way while writing mails or having a chat with any one.
I want more such king of listing like verbs,adjectives,type of joining sentences,how to write a simple staement in varieties way…etc
I got assegment and project to present, and I have dificulty with linking words with useful page, I have improve lots I even had have added it to my favorite
