DISCOURSE MARKERS

WHAT ARE DISCOURSE MARKERS?

Discourse- It is a written or spoken communication
Markers something that is used to indicate a
position, place, or route

DISCOURSE MARKERS are referred to more

commonly as linking words and linking phrases,
or sentence connectors.
COMMON DISCOURSE MARKERS

CONJUNCTIONS GAMBITS
NOTE

There are some phrases or connecting

words which are commonly and more
appropriately used in writing than in
having conversations, vice-versa.
CONJUNCTIONS
A conjunction is the glue that holds words,
phrases and clauses (both dependent and
independent) together. There are three
different kinds of conjunctionscoordinating,
subordinating, and correlativeeach serving
its own, distinct purpose, but all working to
bring words together.
COORDINATING CONJUNCTIONS

Coordinating conjunctions are what come to most

peoples minds when they hear the word conjunction.
They can join together words, phrases and independent
clauses. There are seven of them, and theyre easy to
remember if you can just remember FAN BOYS:

FOR, AND, NOR, BUT, OR , YET, SO

SUBORDINATING CONJUNCTIONS

A subordinating conjunction always

introduces a dependent clause, tying it to
an independent clause.
Because of you, I never stray too far from the sidewalk
(Kelly Clarkson).
If you leave me now, youll take away the biggest part of
me (Peter Cetera/Chicago).
When I see you smile, I can face the world (Bad
English).
[You] dont know what youve got til its gone
(Cinderella).
I guess Ill never be the same since I fell for you (B.B.
King).
As I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I
take a look at my life and realize theres nothing left
(Coolio).
CORRELATIVE CONJUNCTIONS
Correlative conjunctions are sort of like tag-
team conjunctions. They come in pairs, and you
have to use both of them in different places in
a sentence to make them work. They include
pairs like both/and, whether/or,
either/or, neither/nor, not/but and not
only/but also.
 EXAMPLES
I either want the cheesecake or the frozen hot chocolate.
Ill have both the cheesecake and the frozen hot chocolate.
I didnt know whether youd want the cheesecake or the
frozen hot chocolate, so I got you both.
Oh, you want neither the cheesecake nor the frozen hot
chocolate? No problem.
Ill eat them both - not only the cheesecake but also the
frozen hot chocolate.
I see youre in the mood not for dessert but appetizers. Ill
help you with those too.
CONVERSATION GAMBITS
A gambit is what we nowadays refer to as a
"chunk", a group of words that have some function
towards presenting "meaning". They are rather
empty of meaning in and of themselves but as
cultural and discourse markers - they work superb.
Students who get good command of gambits,
achieve high fluency.
PONDER ON THE FOLLOWING:
Would you just walk up to a group of strangers at a
party and begin talking to them?

How about when you want to ask a question in the

middle of a speech or a talk?
WHEN TO USE THE GAMBITS?
1. ASKING FOR INFORMATION
Id like to know
Im interested in
Could you tell me ?
Do you know ?
Could you find out ?
Could I ask ?
Do you happen to know ?
2. BREAKING IN
Excuse me
Sorry
Excuse me for interrupting, but
May I interrupt for a moment?
please
Certainly
 3. INTERRUPTING GAME
Sorry, but
Excuse me for interrupting,
but
Can I add here that ?
Id like to comment on that.
Can I add something?
Can I say something here?
Id like to say something if I
may
Can I ask a question?
May I ask something?
To return to the topic
Anyway
In any case
To get back to what I was
saying
Where was I?
4. GETTING INFORMATION ON THE
PHONE
Im calling to find out
Id like to ask
Could you tell me ?
Im calling about
I was wondering if you could tell me
I wonder if you could help me
If you go through a switchboard, say first:
Id like to talk to somebody about
5. ACTIONS IN ORDER
First of all, Then,
Next, After that,
Finally, Make sure you
Be careful not to Remember to
Dont forget to
6. TELLING A STORY
First First of all
To begin with Then
After that So
So then At the end
7. A SURPRISING FACT
Start:
Do you realize that
You may not believe it, but
The surprising thing is
Oddly enough
Believe it or not
It may sound strange, but
Surprisingly
Funnily enough
7. A SURPRISING FACT
End with:

Generally By and large

As a rule Normally
Usually On the whole
8. SURPRISING NEWS
Guess what!
Surprise!
Ive got news for you!
Do you know what!
Are you sitting down?
Youd better sit down!
You wont believe this, but
9. AN UNPLEASANT THOUGHT
Actually
The only thing is
To tell you the truth
To be honest
Frankly
10. THE HIDDEN TRUTH
Frankly, I doubt if Lets face it!

The catch is The truth of the matter is

The real question is Come on now!

Lets be realistic
11. CHANGING THE SUBJECT
Talking of
That reminds me
By the way,
On before I forget
12. CURRENT AFFAIRS/OPINION
I think I suppose
I suspect that Im pretty sure that
Im fairly certain that Its my opinion that
Im convinced that I wonder if
13. GUESSING
Id say
Could it be
Perhaps its
I think its
It looks like
Its difficult to say, but Id guess
14. A CONVICTION
I honestly feel that
I strongly believe that
Im convinced that
Without a doubt
Im positive
Im absolutely certain that
15. PERSONAL OPINION
In my opinion
I personally believe
I personally think
I personally feel
Not everyone will agree me, but
To my mind
16. SHARING A CONFIDENCE
Ive heard
They say
Just between you and me,
I heard on the grapevine
This shouldnt be passes around, but
Have you heard
Maybe I shouldnt say this, but
17. OFFERING A SUGGESTION
Why dont you
Why not
Perhaps you could
Have you thought about
I have an idea
Lets
18. PLAN AND COUNTERPLAN
Why dont you
You could always
If I were you, Id
Why not
How about
Try -ing
19. CORRECTING YOURSELF
What I mean is What I meant was
Let me put another way, What Im saying is
What Im trying to say is Dont misunderstand me.
If I said that, I didnt mean to
Let me rephrase what I just said.
THERE ARE MORE!
IN SPEAKING, THE FOLLOWING DISCOURSE
MARKERS ARE VERY COMMON:
IN WRITING, THE FOLLOWING DISCOURSE
MARKERS ARE COMMON:
INSIDE THE WORLD OF MESSENGER
Create a GIANT GROUP CHAT simulating a
possible conversation using the conjunctions and the
gambits learned.

It must look like a conversation of two or more

individuals in a chat box.