Transition Words and Phrases

Transition words are essential, since they not only connect ideas, but also can introduce a certain shift, contrast or opposition, emphasis or agreement, purpose, result or conclusion, etc. in the line of argument OR discussion.

Agreement / Addition / SimilarityThe transition words like also, in addition, and, likewise, add information,

reinforce ideas, and express agreement with preceding material.

in the first placenot only ... but alsoas a matter of factin like mannerin additioncoupled within the same fashion / wayfirst, second, thirdin the light ofnot to mentionfurthermoreadditionally

to say nothing ofequally importantby the same tokenagaintoandalsothenequallyIdenticallysimilarly

uniquelylikeastoomoreoveras well astogether withof courselikewisecomparativelycorrespondingly

Opposition / Limitation / ContradictionTransition phrases like but, rather and or, express that there is evidence to the contrary or point out alternatives, and thus

introduce a change the line of reasoning (contrast).

although this may be truein contrastdifferent fromof course ..., buton the other handon the contraryat the same timein spite ofeven so / thoughbe that as it may

then againabove allin realityafter allbut(and) stillunlikeor(and) yetwhile

albeitbesidesas much aseven thoughalthoughinsteadwhereasdespiteconverselyotherwise

howeverratherneverthelessnonethelessregardlessnotwithstanding

Cause / Condition / PurposeThese transitional phrases present specific conditions

or intentions.

in the event thatgranted (that)as / so long ason (the) condition (that)for the purpose ofwith this intentionwith this in mindin the hope thatto the end thatfor fear thatdue to

in order toseeing / being thatin view ofIf... thenunless whenwheneverwhile because ofas

sincewhilelestin caseprovided thatgiven thatonly / even ifso thatso as toowing toin as much as

Examples / Support / EmphasisThese transitional devices (like especially) are used to introduce

examples as support, to indicate importance or as an illustration so that an idea is cued to the reader.

in other wordsto put it differentlyfor one thingas an illustrationin this casefor this reasonto put it another waythat is to saywith attention toby all meansto explainto enumerateto clarify

important to realizeanother key pointfirst thing to remembermost compelling evidencemust be rememberedpoint often overlookedto point outon the positive sideon the negative sidewith this in mindin factin generalin particular

notablyincludingliketo be surenamelychieflytrulyindeedcertainlysurelyin detailfor examplefor instance

markedlysuch as especiallyexplicitlyspecificallyexpresslysurprisinglyfrequentlysignificantlyparticularlyto demonstrateto emphasizeto repeat

Effect / Consequence / ResultSome of these transition words (thus, then, accordingly, consequently, therefore, henceforth) are time words that are used to show that after a particular time there was a consequence or an effect. Note that for and because are placed before the cause/reason. The other devices are placed before the consequences or effects.

as a resultunder those circumstancesin that casefor this reasonin effectforthusbecause the

thereforethereuponforthwithaccordinglyhenceforththenhenceconsequently

Conclusion / Summary / RestatementThese transition words and phrases conclude, summarize and / or restate ideas, or indicate a final general statement. Also some words (like therefore) from the Effect / Consequence category can be used to summarize.

as can be seengenerally speakingin the final analysisall things consideredas shown abovein the long rungiven these pointsas has been notedin a wordfor the most partafter all

in factin summaryin conclusionin shortin briefin essenceto summarizeon balancealtogetheroverallordinarily

usuallyby and largeto sum upon the wholein any eventin either caseall in allObviouslyUltimatelyDefinitely

Time / Chronology / SequenceThese transitional words (like finally) have the function of limiting, restricting, and defining time. They can be used either alone or as part of adverbial expressions.

at the present timefrom time to timesooner or laterat the same timeup to the present timeto begin within due timeas soon asas long asin the meantimein a momentnowformerlysuddenlyshortlyhenceforthwheneverinstantly

without delayin the first placeall of a suddenat this instantfirst, secondimmediatelyquicklyfinallyafterlaterlasteventuallymeanwhilefurtherduringin timeprior topresently

untiltillsincethenbeforehencesincewhenonceaboutnextforthwithstraightaway by the timewhenever until nownow thatoccasionally

Space / Location / Place These transition words are often used as part of adverbial expressions and have the function to restrict, limit or qualify space. Quite a few of these are also found in the Time category and can be used to describe spatial order or spatial reference.

whereveraroundbetweenbeforealongsideamid

amongbeneathbesidebehindacross

USEFUL PHRASES FOR SPEAKING TESTACCORDING TO EACH CANDIDATES

TASK AYou need to organize your speech so that there is a

smooth glow of ideasINTRODUCTION BODY CONCLUSION

- Introduce topic

-Highlight main points of task

-Give definition (if any)

-Include major points and elaborate on them

-Talk about the most important point first

-Use transition signals to connect ideas

-Reinstate your opinion

-Summarize main points of the topic

-Give advice or recommendations

CANDIDATE A

· Good morning to the examiners and all my friends.· Firstly, I would like to suggest …………….· My main point is ……………….. (explain/give example)· My next point is ……………….. (explain/give example)· The next point I would like to make is ……………( “ )· However / But / Nevertheless …………………. Etc· I have mentioned earlier that ………………….· Therefore / Thus / Hence …………………….. etc· In short …………………………· Thank you.

CANDIDATE B

. Good morning …………………· First of all, I propose ………………….· The most important factor is ………………… (explain/give

example)· Next, let’s look at ……………………………. ( “ )· Another suggestion is………………………( “ )· However / But / Nevertheless …………………..etc· Therefore / Thus / Hence / As a result …………………….etc· Those are the suggestions …………..· Thank you.

CANDIDATE C

. Good morning…………..· As a start, I would like to suggest …………………..· It is important to …………………………(explain/give example)· The next issue is ……………………….( “ )· Another point I would like to emphasize is ……………( “ )· However / But / Nevertheless …………..· Therefore / Thus / Hence / As a result ……………….· In summary, I would suggest ………….· Thank you.

CANDIDATE D

· Good morning ……….· I would like to begin by suggesting ………………· One important reason is ……………….(explain/give

example)· Next, I would like to highlight …………( “ )· Moving on to my next point, which is ……….. ( “ )· However / But / Nevertheless …………..· Therefore / Thus / Hence / As a result ……………….· As a conclusion, I would say…………..· Thank you.

INTRODUCTION (after greeting eg: Good morning everyone, Good afternoon to all the candidates etc.)Let me enlighten you on

Today, I would like to talk on

I have been asked to talk on

I would like to begin by

The reason I am here is to talk about

TASK A :INTRODUCTION

TASK A :BODY

I would like to mention briefly

I would like to comment on

There are several points I would like to make

My first point is

Firstly / First of all

To begin with

The next issue is

Furthermore/Moreover/ In addition

Let me give you an example

Let us consider

TASK A : CONCLUSION

In general...

All in all...

In a nutshell...

Let me conclude by saying...

I would like to conclude by...

Finally...

TASK BWhen managing a discussion, you will• - introduce the subject or problem• - have to invite people to speak• - need to encourage group participation• - close/ conclude the discussion

Some expressions that you can use in managing a discussion are...

OPENING A DISCUSSION(after greeting eg: Good morning

everyone, Good afternoon to all the candidates etc.)

Good morning, thank you for coming...

Thank you all for coming...

Thanks for being here...

Shall we start our discussion?...

Right, let’s begin

May I have your attention please

INTRODUCING A SUBJECT

First, let’s tackle the issue of...

Today we are meeting to discuss...

Let’s talk about the problem of...

We’re here to talk about...