Facultad de Formación del Profesorado y Educación – Universidad de Oviedo

Inglés. Destrezas B2.I. – Grado de Maestro en Educación Primaria

CONNECTORS

CAUSE

• Conjunctions followed by a complete sentence:

o BECAUSE: it usually follows the main clause: Everybody likes her because
she's very kind and friendly.

o AS and SINCE are very similar. AS is less formal than SINCE. They are used
when the reason is well known. The clauses that start with these words often
begin the sentence:
As I was very tired, I went to bed early.
Since you are not interested, I won't tell you about it.

o GIVEN THAT: However, given that she is a housekeeper, we can infer that
she was being asked to remove dust from the furniture.

• Connectors followed by a noun, a noun phrase, a pronoun or a gerund:

o BECAUSE OF: They have had problems raising cash because of the credit
crunch.

o DUE TO: The cancellation of the game was due to torrential rain.

o THANKS TO suggests that there is some cause for gratitude, though it can be
used sarcastically: She was given a scholarship thanks to her excellent grades.

CONTRAST

o HOWEVER: This restaurant has the best kitchen in town. However, their
staff are quite rude.

o IN CONTRAST: House prices have gone up this year. In contrast, car prices
seem to be stagnating.

o 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.

o NONETHELESS: I don’t think Sean has serious behavioral problems.

Nonetheless, I’ll talk to him first thing in the morning.

o YET: I’ve asked you a thousand times not to leave your dirty socks on the
floor. Yet, you keep doing it.

o ON THE OTHER HAND: England has the best language schools. On the
other hand, it has the worst weather.

o ON THE CONTRARY: I don’t hate Jim. On the contrary, I’m rather fond of
him.

o INSTEAD: I didn’t want to take a side in the argument. Instead, I put my

headphones on and listened to some smooth jazz.

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 Facultad de Formación del Profesorado y Educación – Universidad de Oviedo
Inglés. Destrezas B2.I. – Grado de Maestro en Educación Primaria

o IN ANY CASE: I was thinking of going round Jim’s place. In any case, I
haven’t been invited.

o ALL THE SAME: Yes, he’s very good-looking. All the same, I don’t think you
should go out with him.

CONCESSION

o ALTHOUGH: Although I am quite short, I can play volleyball very well.

o EVEN THOUGH: Even though I limp a little, I can walk fast.

o THOUGH: Though he was tired he went on working.

COMPARISON

o LIKEWISE: Just water these plants twice a week, and likewise the ones in
the bedroom.

o SIMILARLY: You’re not allowed to use your phone here. Similarly, you have
to switch it off when you’re in the library.

o 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.

RESULT

o AS A RESULT: I’ve done a healing course. As a result, I’ve been able to cure
my neighbor’s sick cat.

o AS A CONSEQUENCE: Zack has skipped school on many occasions. As a

consequence, he’s failed his French test.

o THEREFORE: We’re going to experience some meteor showers in the next

few days. Therefore, the number of miraculous self-healings will rise.

o THUS: You didn’t tell me you wanted to come. Thus, we won’t be taking you
with us.

o ACCORDINGLY: Plenty of tourists visit the area in summer. Accordingly,

selling hand-made objects is the main source of income for locals.

o SO (THAT) (less formal): There was nothing on TV, so (that) I decided to

go to bed.

o THAT’S (THE REASON) WHY: Cold temperatures kill mosquitos. That's

why you won't see them in winter.

o FOR THIS REASON: The Colonel was confident that war was impending,
and for this reason he hurried his preparations to leave the country.

SEQUENCING

o 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.

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 Facultad de Formación del Profesorado y Educación – Universidad de Oviedo
Inglés. Destrezas B2.I. – Grado de Maestro en Educación Primaria

o TO BEGIN WITH: To begin with, pet pigs are cleaner than dogs.

o FOR ONE THING: For one thing, they’re completely loyal to their owners.

o SECOND, SECONDLY, IN THE SECOND PLACE: Secondly, their

impressive skills must be mentioned.

o 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 your friends.

o BESIDES: Besides not eating much, they won’t ever chew on your electric
cords.

o IN ADDITION: In addition, they can be taught to feed themselves if you

allow them access to your pantry.

o FURTHERMORE: Furthermore, they make wonderful walking buddies.

o FINALLY: Finally, pet pigs are fantastic guards. No burglar would ever have
the heart to hurt a pet pig.

o LAST, LASTLY, LAST OF ALL: Lastly, your reputation as an eccentric will

rapidly grow in the neighborhood if you’re seen walking a pet pig on a leash
every morning.

EXEMPLIFICATION AND EXPLANATION

o FOR EXAMPLE: Offices can easily become more environmentally-friendly

by, for example, using recycled paper.

o FOR INSTANCE: Appreciate the small things your partner does for you. For
instance, leave thank-you notes for them every now and then.

o TO ILLUSTRATE: Misunderstandings between friends can be highly

destructive. To illustrate, simply look at Daniel and Aaron. They used to be
great friends but now they do not speak to each other.

EMPHASIZING

o 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.

o IN FACT: I told them not to invite Peter to the party. In fact, I was the only
person who saw what a party pooper he really was.

o ACTUALLY: I think it would be a good idea to send her some flowers on her
birthday. Actually, you should get her a hundred orchids.

o INDEED: He may be the best-dressed man around. Indeed, he has a really

good taste in fashion.

FOCUSING AND LINKING

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 Facultad de Formación del Profesorado y Educación – Universidad de Oviedo
Inglés. Destrezas B2.I. – Grado de Maestro en Educación Primaria

o REGARDING: Start your day with making the most important phone calls.
Regarding emails, you might put them off until later.

o WITH REGARD TO: With regard to handling complaints, you might want
to keep in mind that your customers are always right.

o AS REGARDS: Working from home has many advantages. As regards

disadvantages, it might be difficult to keep your cat off your keyboard.

o 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.

CONCLUDING

o IN CONCLUSION: In conclusion, it may be said that pigs make the best pets.

o IN SUMMARY: In summary, it may not be the best idea to frequent the same
pubs as your boss.

o TO SUM UP: To sum up, some people are better suited to working from home
than others.

o ALL IN ALL: All in all, you have to make sure both you and your customers
are satisfied with your work.