LINKING IDEAS – SENTENCE CONNECTORS
1. INTRODUCING CONTRASTING OR OPPOSING IDEAS


In spite of / Despite the cold weather, she didn’t take a coat. (Followed by a noun)
She didn’t pass the exam despite / in spite of studying hard.
(followed by a gerund / a noun or pronoun)


Although / Though / Even though / In spite of the fact that the weather was cold,
she didn’t take a coat.
She didn’t take a coat although / though / even though / in spite of the fact that the
weather was cold
(followed by a sentence – subject + verb)
When a connector begins the sentence, we use a comma to separate the two contrasting
ideas.
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
He was very rude to us, still / yet we forgave him.
He was very rude to us. However / Nevertheless / Nonetheless / In spite of that /
Even so, we forgave him.
The connectors in bold are separated by a comma from the rest of the sentence.
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


On the one hand, the city offers a lot of entertainment. On the other hand, it’s very
noisy. (show two contrasting ideas.)
The Italian restaurant has a good reputation, while / whereas the French one doesn’t.
(followed by a subject + verb)
“I thought you liked French food.” “On the contrary, I hate it.” (followed by a
comma)
In contrast to / Contrary to other TV shows, this one is very amusing. (followed by a
gerund / a noun or pronoun)
2. GIVING EXAMPLES
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
There are many historic places to visit here. For example / For instance, we can visit
the old city or the national museum. (followed by a comma)
Fruits, such as lemons and oranges, provide us with vitamin C.
3. ADDING INFORMATION


There is an old medieval church in the town. Moreover / Furthermore / In addition,
the old market place dates back to 1492.
I’m too busy to take a holiday. Besides, my passport is out of date.
Followed by a comma, and a subject + verb



In addition to / Besides a medieval church, the town has a Gothic town hall.
(Followed by a gerund / a noun or pronoun)
The town has many sports centers as well as a football stadium.
Apart from / Except for Andrew, all my friends will be at the party. (Show
exception)
4. SHOWING REASON, CAUSE AND PURPOSE
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
Because / As / Since / Seeing that she was busy, I didn’t ask her to help me.
I didn’t ask her to help me because / as / since / seeing that she was busy
These connectors are followed by a sentence – subject + verb.
When these connectors begin the sentence, the two clauses are separated by a comma.


Because of / On account of / Owing to / Due to the low ticket sale, the concert was
cancelled.
The concert was cancelled because of / on account of / owing to / due to the low
ticket sale.
These connectors are followed by a noun or a noun phrase.
When these connectors begin the sentence, the two clauses are separated by a comma.


He studied hard in order to / so as to / to succeed in the test. (Followed by V1.)
He studied hard in order that / so that he would succeed in the test. (Followed by a
sentence.)
5. SHOWING RESULTS OR CONSEQUENCES

Amos forgot to lock his house. Consequently / As a result / Therefore / For this
reason / Thus, the thief entered easily.
These connectors usually appear at the beginning of the sentence and are followed by a
comma.

As a result of his brave action, he was awarded a medal. (Followed by a noun phrase)
6. SEQUENCING AND SHOWING A CONNECTION
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

First of all / First / To begin with, we should write an outline for our composition.
Second / Then, we should write the composition according to it.
Finally / In short / To sum up / In conclusion / Last but not least, we should check
our draft to make sure there are no mistakes.
We use words of sequence to organize what we say or write logically.
7. NEITHER, EITHER, SO

Dan didn’t do his homework. I didn’t either / Neither did I.
Either and neither show agreement with negative statements.

Helen can read French. I can too / So can I.
So and too show agreement with positive statements.
You can either take a bus or a taxi. (Show two possible alternatives)
I neither read nor speak Chinese. (Link two negative ideas or statements)
Neither David nor I went to school yesterday.
Connectors
Cause and Effect
Practice
Select the correct connecor to fill in the blank. More than one answer may be correct.
1.
2.
Then click anywhere in the background of the page to see if your answer is partially or all correct. If
all of your answer is correct then all of it will remain in the box. If it is partially correct , your answer
will be erased to the right of the correct letters entered.
Use the <Reset> button to erase your answers and retest yourself.
1.
my computer froze, I had to restart it.
Since
Because
Consequently
2. I couldn't get it to start again,
so
for
because of
the battery was dead.
therefore
3. I had left it on all day;
consequently
4.
For
, it was dead.
because
so that
therefore
I needed to work, I had to go find the power cord
For
Since
Due to
Therefore
5. I had a "splitting headache" today. It got
such
therefore
so much
bad that I had to take a tablet.
so
6.
technology is advancing, we will have to spend more time keeping up.
Now that
Since
Because
Inasmuch as
7. People choose Apple computers
because
due to
their ease of use.
due to the fact that
8. Other people prefer to use PCs
because
due to
because of
they are more universally used.
due to the fact that
9. Why did Jack buy an iMac? He bought one
so
so that
due to
so that
he could easily access the Internet.
for
10.He had lots of free time,
so
because of
for that reason,
he spent it 'surfing' the Internet.
since
Which Connector Can Logically Complete Each Sentence?
Choose the answer that best completes the sentence.
The answer won't appear in the box unless you choose the correct answer.
1. It was gray and rainy.
, we went sailing on the Bay.
Consequently
Nevertheless
Even though
In spite of
2. I turned on the air-conditioning
the room was hot.
due to
despite
even though
since
3. Mario and I will come to the party tonight
we can get a taxi.
although
unless
otherwise
only if
4. Carol came to my house
even though
I asked her not to come on a school night.
despite
provided that
because
5. You must eat the last little piece of pie.
, I will have to throw it away.
Consequently
Nevertheless
Otherwise
Although
6. The traditional pumpkin pie is low in fat
you put whipped cream on it.
as long as
unless
providing that
since
7. The roles of men and women were not the same in the Northern American Indian tribes.
For example, men were both participants and spectators in hunting rituals. Women,
, were forbidden to participate.
nevertheless
on the other hand
therefore
otherwise
8. The windows were all left open.
, a lot of mosquitoes came into the room.
Nevertheless
However
Consequently
Otherwise
9.
I can't be at the board meeting myself, I have asked my assistant to be
prepared to go there for me.
In the event
Unless
Only if
On the other hand
10. I think the board meeting will go well
our present difficulties.
despite
because of
even though
yet
11.
he is usually very honest, I wonder if he is telling us the truth now.
In spite of
Since
Though
In the event that
12. My instructor told me that I am doing well,
to be getting worse.
my grammar use seems
so
therefore
in spite of
yet
13.
you know how to use your computer better, you can include your
computer skills on your resume.
Now that
While
Although
In case
14. You had better answer his e-mail quickly,
he will leave his office
and he won't check his e-mail until next Monday morning.
although
nevertheless
even though
or else
15. I have to go to the meeting
provided that
whether
even if
only if
I want to or not.