CONNECTORS: Developing Fluency

Developing vocabulary that enables us to connect our thoughts is fundamental in achieving fluency in English.  These words and expressions help us to articulate cause and effect, contrast; demonstrate exceptions, examples and time sequences; as well as introduce, emphasize, expand, summarize and conclude our arguments and points of view.  Here is a useful list of commonly used advanced-level connectors in English.  I've compiled shortlist of words with the intent of finding transition words that aren't commonly found in grammar books and that are often used in day to day (professional) speech.

Introduction

• In light of
• With regard to
• Concerning
• When it comes to

Cause-Effect/

• Therefore
• As a result
• Consequently
• In order to

Contrast

• However
• Whereas
• Conversely
• Despite the fact that
• On one hand....yet on the other hand...
• As opposed to (Note: When using a verb, use the gerund (-ing)...e.g. It's better to take the train, as opposed to flying.) 

Examples

• For instance
• Take a look at
• To illustrate
• In this case

 

Time Sequences

• First (second, third, fourth...) of all
• Meanwhile
• Subsequently (Note: This is the same as right after, soon after.)
• Previously
• Formerly
• For the time being
• In the long run
• Sooner or later (It will happen eventually...)

 

Emphasis

• Above all
• Without a doubt
• Undeniably
• Unquestionably
• Particularly
• Primarily
• Most importantly/significantly
• By all means

 

Expansion

• Furthermore
• In addition to this
• ....not to mention...
• As a matter of fact
• Equally important
• Similarly

 

Summary

• By and large
• All in all
• To sum up
• On the whole
• In brief
• For the most part

 

Conclusion

• In the end
• Ultimately
• In any case
• To sum up

Quick Tip: Using FOR/SINCE in the Present Perfect

Yet another common challenge for English learners is how to correctly use for and since in the present perfect.  Take a look at these common mistakes for beginning students:

       We have been traveling around the United States since one month.
       We have been traveling around the United States for one month.

        She hasn't taken a vacation since a long time.
        She hasn't taken a vacation for a long time.

SINCE when?  FOR how long?

If you don't know whether to use for or since, ask yourself...

for HOW LONG?
...two days
...five minutes
...a thousand years
...a long time
...a second
...the rest of my life
...a couple weeks

For is used to express the duration of time. 

since WHEN?
...last Tuesday/month/year/weekend
...November 25
...1980
...3:00 pm

We can also use a dependent clause (subject+verb) after since:
...we got married
...I moved to New York
...he quit his job

or a gerund
...graduating highschool
...buying our new house
...writing my first book

Since is used to express a specific point in time. 

Using the Past Tense with Since

Note that when using since, we sometimes use a combination of the present perfect in the independent (or main) clause and the past in the dependent clause.  Take a look at these examples:

        They haven't seen their grandmother since the family went on vacation last year. 
                 present perfect                                                      past

        Since I moved to Lisbon, I haven't eaten pancakes.
                    past                         present perfect

We can also use the gerund in the dependent clause, which gives the sentence a more general time frame and doesn't overtly identify the subject:

        Since having a baby, she has lost weight quickly.
                  gerund                   present perfect

        We haven't seen them since visiting last Christmas.
               present perfect               gerund

If you have any questions, just post below...I hope these tips help you! 

WhoM do you love? ...WHO vs. WHOM

Have you ever wondered why we say "Who do you love rather than "Whom do you love?" or why Twitter copywriters chose "Who to Follow" rather than "Whom to Follow"?  For English learners, these inconsistencies can be a bit confusing, and even native English speakers disagree on the appropriate usage of who vs. whom. 

Grammar

Put simply, who is used with the subjective (or nominative) case, while whom is used with the objective case.  As you know, the subject causes an action, and the object receives the action:

        Subjective:    I, You, He, She, It, We, They, Who
        Objective:    me, you, him, her, it, us, them, whom

When we use who and whom correctly, it clarifies and emphasizes which case we are addressing:

subjective:  Who gave you the contact?  He gave me the contact.
objective:    Whom did you give the contact to?  I gave the contact to him.

subjective:  Who called this morning?  She called this morning.
objective:    Whom did you call?  I called her.

subjective:  Who saw them at the beach?  I saw them at the beach.
objective:    Whom did you see at the beach?  I saw them at the beach.


Tip:  Notice how 'who' (one actor) is followed by a verb while 'whom' requires the auxiliaries do/did (because there are two actors).

Whom/Whom do you love?

As you can see, who refers to the subjective case (I, you, he, she, it, we, they) while whom refers to the objective case (me, you, him, her, it, us, them).  Now take a look at the examples from the beginning of this post:

objective:     Who Whom do you love?  I love him. 
objective:     Who Whom to follow?  Follow me! 

This is the grammatically correct way to use who and whom, however nobody says "Whom do you love?" and everybody clicks on "Who to Follow".  These days, whom is seen by some people as overly formal, uptight or stuffy, while others still use whom in spoken English, but generally speaking whom occurs more often in written English than in spoken.  Whether one chooses to use whom or not, understanding English grammar is fundamental to speaking well. 

In my opinion case markers, such as who and whom, enrich languages, adding specificity, clarity and at the same time, complexity to the expression of English. Old English was a much more complex language with far more cases, determiners and even pronouns. It's important to preserve these complexities in the English language, as it has become more watered down by the Internet, more mainstream as the world's international business language, all of which makes it one of the world's easiest languages to learn.