Linking Words

While (Duração)
He was cleaning the attic while his wife was
feeding their baby.

When / By the time (Ponto específico)

When / By the time the teacher arrived, all the
students had already left.
As soon as (Ponto específico + presteza)
I’ll see to it as soon as I get there, OK?
As soon as I got there, they all left.

Afterwards/ After that/ Then ( Posterioridade)

She did the washing up and afterwards/after that/
then decided to watch television.

Beforehand/ In advance ( Antecedência)

All this should have been thought out beforehand.
In the end (Conclusão)
In the end they decided to accept the new
proposal.

In the end X At the end

In the end means “finally” or “after some time”.
We couldn’t decide what to do yesterday
evening. In the end we decided to stay at home.
At first, I didn’t like him, but in the end we
became good friends.

At the end means “at the point where something

happened”.
We’re on holiday at the end of this week.
At the end of the film I felt very sad.
 EXERCISE
Complete the sentences using at the end and in the end.
1. I hated the school at first, but _____ I quite enjoyed it.
2.They’re going to Italy ______ of next week.
3. At first, he didn’t want to come with us on holiday, but
_______ he changed his mind.
4. I looked everywhere for my wallet and _________
I found it in my pocket.
5. She’s starting work __________ of May.
6. We were all exhausted _________ of the journey.