LINKING WORDS/ PHRASES/ CONJUNCTIONS

ADDING POINTS

also

too

In addition,…

Furthermore,…

Moreover,…

What is more,…

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SHOWING CONTRAST

Although/ Even though

Although/ Even though he is rich, he is not happy.

However, / Nevertheless,/ Nonetheless,…

He is rich. However/ Nevertheless/ Nonetheless, he is not happy.

In contrast…

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On the one hand,…

On the other hand,…

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Despite…

In spite of…

Regardless of…

 Despite/ In spite of/ Regardless of his wealth, he is not happy.

 Despite/ In spite of/ Regardless of his being rich, he is not happy.

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  Despite/ In spite of/ Regardless of the fact that he is rich, he is not happy. (NOT: Despite/ In
spite of/ Regardless of he is rich…)

while/ whereas…

She is short while/ whereas her brother is very tall.

EXPRESSING OPINION

In my opinion,…

To my mind,…

To my way of thinking,…

As far as I am concerned,…

I firmly/ strongly believe that…

I am of the opinion that…

I feel that…

I am convinced that…

CONSEQUENCES/ RESULTS

As a result/ consequence,…

In this way,…

Consequently,…

Thus

Therefore

REASON/ RESULT

That is why… (we use it to express the RESULT)

That is because… (we use it to express the reason)

She only eats junk food. That is why she is obese.

She is obese. That is because she only eats junk food.

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CAUSE

owing to

due to

because of

 The match was canceled owing to/ due to/ because of bad weather.

 The match was canceled owing to/ due to/ because of the weather being bad.

 The match was canceled owing to/ due to/ because of the fact that the weather was bad.
(NOT: owing to/ due to/ because of the weather was bad)

CONCLUSION

To sum up,…

In conclusion,…

All in all,…

PURPOSE

FOLLOWED BY A CLAUSE:

so that… (NOT: so that to…)

He is studying hard so that he passes the test/ so that he doesn’t fail the test.

He is encouraging his kids to study so that they pass the test/ so that they don’t fail the test.

FOLLOWED BY AN INFINITIVE:

to… (NOT: not to… We don’t use the negative infinitive to express purpose)

so as to…/ so as not to… (NOT: so as to not…)

in order to…/ in order not to (NOT: in order to not)

SAME SUBJECTS:

He is studying hard to pass the test. (NOT: …not to fail the test)

He is studying hard so as to pass the test/ so as not to fail the test.

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He is studying hard in order to pass the test/ in order not to fail the test.

DIFFERENT SUBJECTS:

“to…” and “so as to…” are ΝΟΤ used when we have two different subjects (ετεροπροσωπία ρήματος-
απαρεμφάτου). We only use” in order to…” in this case:

He is encouraging his kids to study in order for them to pass the test/ in order for them not to fail the
test.

SEQUENCING

Firstly,…

First of all,..

To begin/ start with,…

Secondly,..

Thirdly,…

Last but not least,…

SPECULATING

In all likelihood…

MAKING SOMETHING CLEAR

In other words,…

TALKING ABOUT SOMETHING

Regarding/ Concerning sth (NOT: regarding/ concerning with sth)

As regards sth (NOT: as regards with sth

With/ in regard to sth

With respect to sth

As far as sth is concerned

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As for sth

NO MATTER HOW/ NO MATTER WHAT

no matter what=whatever

no matter how=however

No matter what you do, you won’t change his mind.=Whatever you do, you won’t change his mind.

No matter how hard you try, you will not change his mind.=However hard you try, you won’t change
his mind.

EXCLUDING

Except for

Apart from

Other than

Except for/ Apart from/ Other than John, I didn’t know anybody at the party.

INTRODUCING CLAUSES OF REASON

because

since

as

I didn’t call him because/ since/ as I knew he would be sleeping.

TIME CLAUSES

When=As soon as

I will call you when/ as soon as I arrive.

After…. (αφου…)

After that, (μετά/ έπειτα)

Afterwards, (μετά/ έπειτα)

Then, (μετά/ έπειτα)

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After I had finished my homework, I went to the cinema. (NOT: I finished my homework. After, I went
to the cinema)

I finished my homework. After that,/ Afterwards,/ Then, I went to the cinema.

or:

I finished my homework and after that,/ afterwards,/ then, I went to the cinema.

DOUBLE CONJUNCTIONS

Not only….but also…

Both…and…

neither…nor…

either…or…

whether…or…

No sooner…than… (NOT: no sooner…when…)

Hardly/ scarcely…when…

He is not only smart but also very hard-working.

or: Not only is he smart, but also he is very hard-working. (inversion)

He is both smart and hard-working. (NOT: He is and smart and hard-working)

He is neither smart nor hard-working. That is why he was fired.

We could either go to the cinema or go to the theatre. It is all the same to me.

I don’t know whether he is coming or not./ I don’t know whether or not he is coming.

I will go to the party whether you like it or not.

I had no sooner entered the house than my boss called me.

or: No sooner had I entered the house than my boss called me. (inversion)

I had hardly/ scarcely entered the house when my boss called me.

or: Hardly/ Scarcely had I entered the house when my boss called me. (inversion)