Two of the most important features of any good piece of writing are coherence and cohesion. In order to have a coherent text, we must ensure that our ideas are well organised and that follow a logical progression from beginning to end. Furthermore, to have cohesion in a text, apart from a proper use of syntactical elements, we must make good use of English connectors. These connectors are one of the elements that B1 students (intermediate level) find most difficult to start incorporating into their Writing. For this reason, in this post I’m going to teach you to use B1 connectors in English for intermediate students. Because if you want to improve your writing skills, you must use connectors.
What are English connectors?
These, also called linkers, connectives or linking words, are the glue that holds your sentences together. A text wouldn’t be a proper text if we didn’t use connectors appropriately. However, this is one of the things that lower-intermediate and intermediate English students struggle with most. Sometimes, they don’t know an appropriate one to use or they don’t know how to use it properly. For this reason, in this post, we will go over some essential connectors which are simply perfect for intermediate English learners. I have divided them into 3 groups: reason, purpose and result; contrast, and addition.
Reason, purpose and result connectors
because (of), as, since
We use these three linking words to give a reason for something. “Because” is more common than “as” and “since”.
“She didn’t tell him because/as/since she was afraid to.”
We use “because of” when the reason is a noun, not a sentence.
“Jack knew Laura because of his brother.”
“We didn’t recognise him because of the sunglasses.”
So & therefore
We use “so” and “therefore” when we give the result of something. “So” is usually in the middle of a sentence, whereas “therefore” usually appears at the beginning and followed by a comma.
“I’m really tired so I won’t go out tonight.”
“I’m really tired. Therefore, I won’t go out tonight.”
To & In order to
We use “to” and “in order” to when we explain why we do something, the purpose. They are always followed by an infinitive.
“I have joined an academy to learn English.”
“I’ve joined an academy in order to learn English.”
We can also answer a Why…? question using «to» or «in order to«.
“Why have you joined an academy? To/In order to learn English.”
Contrast connectors
But, although & though
These linking words connect two contrasting ideas and are followed by a clause (pronoun/noun + verb). “But” is normally in the middle of a sentence, preceded by a comma, while “although/though” can go in the middle and at the beginning.
“The hotel was excellent, but the food was not good.”
“The hotel was excellent although/though the food was not good.”
“Although/though the food was not good, the hotel was excellent.”
In spite of / despite
“In spite of” / “despite” are used to contrast two ideas. These connectors are followed by a noun or an -ing phrase; never by a pronoun/noun + verb. They can be used either at the beginning or in the middle of a sentence.
“The hotel was excellent despite the food being bad/the bad food.”
“The hotel was excellent in spite of the food being bad/the bad food.”
“Despite the food being bad/the bad food, the hotel was excellent.”
“In spite of the food being bad/the bad food, the hotel was excellent.”
However
“However” is a word which connects two different contrasting sentences. It’s normally used at the beginning of a sentence and should be followed by a comma.
“The hotel was excellent. However, the food was awful.”
«People tend to put on weight in middle age. However, gaining weight is not inevitable»
Addition connectors
Also, too, in addition, moreover
We use these linking words to add more information to something we have said.
«Too» normally goes at the end and is used in positive sentences. «Also» (as a sentence adverb), «in addition» and «moreover» usually go at the beginning.
“Buying car is a long-term commitment. Also, a car is very expensive to run.”
“Buying car is a long-term commitment. In addition, a car is very expensive to run.”
“Buying car is a long-term commitment. Moreover, a car is very expensive to run.”
“Buying car is a long-term commitment. A car is very expensive to run, too.”
All these words will definitely be essential in your writings for Preliminary (PET) or even First (FCE), so make sure you know how to use them properly. Also, if you’re interested in this topic, I suggest going for blogs like this one where you can find plenty more connectors and explanations.
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6 comentarios en “Essential B1 Connectors for Intermediate English Learners”
You are great, really well written for us to understand
Thank you so much for your feedback, Laura. Take care!
Buenas,
Muy bueno el contenido, pero tengo una duda.
Al usar in spite of/despite, siempre tiene que ir en ing el verbo siguiente?
No podría ser: Despite the food WAS good…?
Hola Jesús! Efectivamente, siempre tiene que ser un verbo en ING o un sustantivo/pronombre (como objeto). Ten en cuenta que «despite» es una preposición e «in spite of» es una frase preposicional, por lo que siempre lleva un objeto. Un objeto puede ser un sustantivo o un verbo sustantivado (gerundio -ing). Fíjate que en castellano es igual. No decimos «A pesar de yo fui a la fiesta…», sino «a pesar de QUE yo fui a la fiesta…». Ese «que» es un pronombre que hace de objeto de la preposición. En inglés, en el caso que has puesto, diríamos «despite the food being good…» porque necesitas decir «the food», pero ésta no puede ser objeto de «despite» y sujeto de «to be» a la vez, por lo que el verbo tiene que sustantivarse también, utilizando la forma de gerundio. Espero no haberte liado más, jeje. Si quiere decir «was», tienes que decir algo como «although the food was good», porque «although» es una conjunción, es decir, puede unir oraciones, no solo sustantivos/pronombres. 🙂
Hola:
Cuando escribes esto en tu entrada:
«Two of the most important features of any good piece of writing are coherence and cohesion. In order to have a coherent text, we must ensure that our ideas are well organised and that follow a logical progression from beginning to end. «On the other hand», to have cohesion in a text, apart from a proper use of syntactical elements, we must make good use of English connectors.
Cuando usas el conector «On the other hand» en el párrafo de arriba, haces un uso incorrecto del conector ya que en inglés se usa sólo para contrastar cosas contradictorias. Por ejemplo, ventajas vs desventajas o ventajas de A vs ventajas de B. No debemos darle el uso de añadir más argumentos que vayan en la misma dirección que ya habíamos apuntado en la frase (por mucho que en español sí se pueda hacer) y ése es el uso que le has dado tú, por lo tanto habría que haber usado un addition connector y no un contrast connector.
Un saludo
Hola, María! Tienes toda la razón. Muy buen apunte. Ya está corregido. Gracias! 🙂