Linking Words / Phrases

Question 1

To make contrasting points

Answer 1

… yet / however / nevertheless / but / even so / still / nonetheless … Although / Even though / Regardless of the fact that / In spite of the fact that / Despite the fact that / While …

It is a well-known fact that wearing seat belts saves lives;
yet, large numbers of drivers refuse to wear them. Although wearing seat belts is known to save lives, large number of drivers refuse to wear them.

Question 2

To express balance (the other side of the argument)

Answer 2

Opponents of … argue / claim / believe that …
While it is true to say that …, in fact …
The fact that … contradicts the belief / idea that …

Opponents of animal testing argue, experiments can be conducted in other ways without losing their efficacy.
While it is true to say that the government is investigating in retraining schemes, in fact the unemployment rate is still high.
The fact that there are still no recycling bins in my area contradicts the belief the town council care about environment.

Question 3

Negative addition

Answer 3

Neither … nor …
… nor / neither …
… either.

Neither my sister nor my brother have ever traveled abroad.
My sister has never traveled abroad; nor has my brother.
My sister has never traveled abroad, and my brother hasn’t either.

Question 4

To express exception

Answer 4

… apart from / but / except (for)

He has visited every European country apart from one.

Question 5

To clarify/rephrase

Answer 5

In other words / That is to say / To put it another way …

In other words, if you treat people with respect they are far more likely to treat you with respect.

Question 6

To express similarity

Answer 6

… similarly / likewise / in the same way …

Making a list before you go shopping is important if you want to save money; similarly, buying products that are on sale also helps you to stay within your budget.

Question 7

To give an alternative

Answer 7

either / On the other hand / Alternatively

We could (either) go to Malta or Tunisia.
We could go to Malta. On the other hand we could go to Tunisia.

Question 8

To express condition

Answer 8

… on condition that / providing (that) / as long as …
… only if …
In the event of an … / In the event that, if … / In case of …
… whether … or not?
… otherwise, or (else) …

You may use this room on condition that you keep quiet. You may use this room only if you keep quiet.
In the event of an emergency, call security.
In case of emergency, call security.
Do you happen to know whether Sandra works at home or not?
Get your tickets early otherwise you might not get in.

Question 9

To express consequence

Answer 9

… consequently / as a result …
… if so, …, if not / otherwise, …

The sun is getting increasingly more dangerous; consequently I never go out between midday and three.
I’m hoping to get back today; if so, I’ll come see you, if not, I’ll give you a call.

Question 10

To conclude

Answer 10

Finally / Lastly / All in all / Taking everything into account (consideration), On the whole, All things considered / In conclusion / On balance / For the above mentioned reasons / To sum up…

Finally, it is felt that you would not be suitable for the position.

Question 11

Time

Answer 11

... when / whenever / before / after ...
... until / till ...
... since ...
... as / while ...
... now that ...

The green light comes on when humidity reaches 90%.
Wait until the crust is a golden brown before removing the pie.
There has been no news of the child since five o’clock yesterday evening.
She spotted them as she was getting on the bus. She saw her while she was waiting for a taxi.
I never see her now that she has moved to the city.

Question 12

Reference

Answer 12

… regarding / concerning …
… with respect / regard / reference to …
… in regard / reference to …

I am writing to request more information regarding the position advertised in Sunday’s edition of The Times.
I am writing with respect to the availability of product no. 127492.

Question 13

Summarising

Answer 13

in short / Briefly / To put it briefly …

In short, I’ve never met a nicer person!

Question 14

Personal opinion

Answer 14

In my opinion / In my view / To my mind / To my way of thinking / I am convinced that / It is my firm belief that / I am inclined to believe that / It seems to me that / As far as I am concerned / I think that …

In my opinion our efforts will meet with success.

Question 15

To list advantages and disadvantages

Answer 15

One advantage of / Another advantage of / One other advantage of / A further advantage of / The main advantage of / The greatest advantage of / The first advantage of …
One disadvantage of / Another disadvantage of / One other disadvantage of / A further disadvantage of / The main disadvantage of / The greatest disadvantage of / The first disadvantage of

The main advantage of having a pet is that they are fantastic company.
One disadvantage of having a pet is that they need a lot of care.

Question 16

To list points

Answer 16

Firstly / First of all / In the first place / Secondly / Thirdly / Finally / To start with / To begin with

Firstly we have to make both sides feel comfortable before talks can continue.

Question 17

To list points in a begining

Answer 17

First / To start with / To begin with / First of all

First, make sure you have all the necessary ingredients.

Question 18

To list points in a continuing

Answer 18

Secondly / After this / After that / Afterwards / Then / Next

Next, mix all the ingredients in a bowl.

Question 19

To list points in a concluding

Answer 19

Finally / Lastly / Last but not least

Finally, bake the cake in a medium oven.

Question 20

To add more points to the same topic

Answer 20

What is more / Furthermore / Apart from this / Apart from that / In addition (to this) / Moreover / Besides (this) / … not to mention the fact that
What is more, the Internet has made a major impact on education, which will greatly influence the way we teach and learn.

Not only …, but … also …
Not only has the Internet made a major impact on education, but it will also greatly influence the way we teach and learn.

… both … and …
The Internet is both having a major impact on education and is something that will influence the way we tech and learn.

Question 21

To refer to other sources

Answer 21

With reference to / According to

According to recent statistics, the number of unemployed is increasing.

Question 22

To express cause

Answer 22

… because / owing the fact that / due to the fact that / on the grounds that / since / as …
The house was demolished as they are going to build a block of flats there.

In view of / Because of / Owing to …
Owing to the fact that they are going to build a block of flats there, the house was demolished.

for this reason …
They are going to build a block of house there; for this reason, the house was demolished

Seeing that …
Seen that they are going to build a block of flats there, the house was demolished.

Question 23

To express effect

Answer 23

thus / therefore / so / consequently / as a result / as a consequence
Her health was failing and she wanted more time with her family; thus she decided to retire.

Question 24

To express purpose

Answer 24

… so that …
She quit her job, so that she could travel around the world

… so as to / in order to …
She quit her job, in order to travel around the world.

… with the purpose of / with the intention of …
I bought a new bicycle with the purpose of cycling to work in the mornings.

Question 25

To emphasis a point

Answer 25

Indeed / Naturally / Clearly / Obviously / Of course / Needless to say …
Needless to say, the extent of his talent guaranteed that he would be a great actor.

Question 26

To express reality

Answer 26

It is a fact that / In effect / In fact / As a matter of fact / The fact of the matter is (that) / Actually / In practice / Indeed …
Actually, failing to watch your diet will lead to your gaining weight.

Question 27

To give examples

Answer 27

For instance / For example …
For example, by providing flexible working hours, businesses can encourage employees to be more productive.

… such as / like …
By providing incentives such as flexible working hours, businesses can encourage employees to be more productive.

… particularly / in particular / especially …
If employees are to be more productive, then the provision of incentives, especially flexible working hours, is essential.

Question 28

To make general the statements

Answer 28

As a (general) rule / By and large / Generally / In general / On the whole ...
On the whole, the more decisions you let a child make on his own, the more self-sufficient he will be.

Question 29

To make partially true statements

Answer 29

Up to a point / To a certain extent / To a certain degree / To some extent / To some degree / In a sense / In a way / To a limited extent …
To limited extent, this is true but serious athletes will always need the support of their coach and team-mates.

Question 30

To express limited knowladge

Answer 30

To the best of my knowledge / As far as I know …

As far as I know, Tony has already sent the letters.

Question 31

To state other people’s opinions

Answer 31

It is popular believed that / People often claim that / It is often alleged that / Some people argue that / Many people feel that / Some people point out that …
Some people point out that homeopathic remedies can be more effective than conventional medicine.

Contrary to popular belief, conventional medicine is not always as effective as homeopathic remedies.