Episode 42
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I'm Georgiana, founder of SpeakEnglishPodcast.com. My mission is to help YOU to speak English fluently and confidently.
Today, I'll talk about the connectors, those words that help us to better structure what we say.
Next, of course, we'll practice with an exclusive lesson from the point of view story.
I'll just go ahead and start talking about connectors. But don't worry, I'm not gonna give any grammatical theory here 🙂 As usual, I'll give you some examples, and then you'll practice the connectors in context with the point of view story.
Connectors are merely words that help structure what you say or write.
Only by using a few connectors can you significantly improve your fluency and expressivity.
Let's take a look at some of the best-known connectors:
When we want to add something, we use words like BESIDES, ALSO, and MOREOVER.
For example:
"I don't want to go to the movies. Besides, it's late now."
"I want a cake and an ice cream also."
"He didn't like the birthday party. Moreover, he had to cancel his romantic date."
When we express a cause, we use words like SINCE and BECAUSE.
For example:
"Since you don't want to go to the movies with me, I'll go with my friends."
"I want a hotdog and a pizza because I'm hungry."
When we express a condition, we use words like IF and WHENEVER.
For example:
"If you don't want to go to the beach with me, I'll go with my friends."
"Whenever I see an ice-cream, I wanna eat it."
When we express a consequence, we use SO THEN and THEREFORE.
For example:
"You've always told me that you don't like Chinese food, so then, why are you booking a table at a Chinese restaurant?"
"I'm very thirsty; therefore, I'll have a beer."
When we express opposition, we can use words like BUT, NEVERTHELESS, THOUGH, YET, or HOWEVER.
Examples:
"We can go to the movies, but I don't wanna be late."
"My salary is low; nevertheless, I find the work gratifying."
"I'm on a diet, though, I want to eat a chocolate cake."
"You promised to finish the report on time, yet I'm still waiting for it."
"We didn't really need the money; however, it seemed like a phenomenal business idea."
When we express order, we use FIRST OF ALL, FIRSTLY, THEN, or FINALLY.
Examples:
"First of all, we'll go to the movies, then we'll have a drink, and finally, we'll get back home."
"Firstly, I'm not gonna tolerate this kind of behavior anymore, and secondly…. you're fired!"
There are many more connectors, and you can find them on several websites. However, I believe it's essential that you master the most common connectors and use them little by little.
Continue practicing with my complete English courses. Choose the course that fits your level and goals, and learn to speak more naturally and confidently.
GRAMMAR MADE EASY
POV Story: Grammar in Context
Read the same story in two different points of view and notice how the grammar changes naturally.
| 01 |
First version Singular · First Person |
"Good morning! Pay attention to what I'm about to say: First of all, I have an important complaint about the hotel service. I tried to get into my room yesterday; however, the door was locked. Then I thought I'd go back to the front desk, yet just before I left, the door opened, and a man showed up wearing my hotel towel and slippers. Since I'm polite, I asked him nicely what he was doing in my room. The man seemed very angry and said something in a language I couldn't understand. Whenever someone doesn't understand my language, I speak to them in English. So, I told him that unless he wanted me to call the police, he had to leave immediately. He didn't seem to understand me either, though. I was losing my patience because I didn't understand what a stranger was doing in my room. Besides, I was tired and wanted to sleep. So, I decided to go back to the reception; however, it was midnight, and there was no one there. Therefore, I thought I'd sleep on the couch and then talk to you early in the morning. Finally, I'd like to file a complaint against your hotel."
"But sir, your room is 303, but you tried to access room 302!"
| 02 |
Second version Plural · First Person |
"Good morning! Pay attention to what we're about to say: First of all, we have an important complaint about the hotel service. Yesterday we tried to get into our room; however, the door was locked. Then we thought about going back to the reception, yet just before we left, the door opened, and a couple came along with our hotel towels and slippers. Since we're polite, we asked them nicely what they were doing in our room. The couple seemed very angry and told us something in a language we couldn't understand. Whenever someone doesn't understand our language, we speak to them in English. So, we told them that unless they wanted us to call the police, they had to leave immediately. But they didn't seem to understand us either. We were losing our patience because we didn't understand what they were doing in our room. Besides, we were tired, and we wanted to sleep. So, we decided to go back to the reception; however, it was midnight, and there was no one there. Therefore, we thought we'd sleep on the couch and then talk to you early in the morning. Finally, we'd like to file a complaint against your hotel."
"Sir and ma'am...your room is 303, but you tried to access room 302!"
| 03 |
Third version Third Person · Past Tense |
Some days ago, a woman came to complain about the hotel service. First of all, she had an important complaint about the hotel service. She said that she tried to get into her room yesterday; however, the door was locked. Then she thought she'd go back to the front desk, yet just before she left, the door opened, and a man showed up wearing her hotel towel and slippers. Since she was polite, she asked him nicely what he was doing in her room. The man seemed very angry and said something in a language she couldn't understand. The woman also mentioned that whenever someone doesn't understand her language, she speaks to them in English. And she told the man in her room that unless he wanted her to call the police, he had to leave immediately. The man didn't seem to understand her either, though. The woman was losing her patience because she didn't understand what a stranger was doing in her room. Besides, she was tired and wanted to sleep. So, she decided to go back to the reception; however, it was midnight, and there was no one there. Therefore, she thought she'd sleep on the couch and then talk to us early in the morning. Finally, she said that she'd like to file a complaint against our hotel.
However, we had to inform her that there had been a mix-up. Moreover, she was the one who tried to access room 302, instead of room 303.
After repeating the story from different points of view, I'm sure it's even clearer now how to use the connectors. And don't worry, always take your time and listen to the story as many times as you need.
Thanks for listening, and I’ll see you in the next episode.
Review
Vocabulary
Review the most useful words and expressions before listening again.
Connector
A word or phrase used to link ideas and organize speech or writing.
Besides
Used to add another point or reason.
Moreover
A formal connector used to add further information.
Since
Used to introduce a reason or cause.
Whenever
Used to mean every time a particular situation happens.
Therefore
Used to introduce a logical result or consequence.
Nevertheless
Used to introduce an idea that contrasts with what came before.
Finally
Used to introduce the last point or step in a sequence.
Continue practicing with my complete English courses. Choose the course that fits your level and goals, and learn to speak more naturally and confidently.
