Common Transitional Words and Phrases

The following list, categorized by type of relationship, provides examples of some common and useful transitional words
and phrases.

Use of Transitional words and phrases:

“to clarify and smooth the movement from idea to idea.”

 cause and effect: consequently, therefore, accordingly, as a result, because, for this reason, hence, thus

 sequence: furthermore, in addition, moreover, first, second, third, finally, again, also, and, besides, further, in
the first place, last, likewise, next, then, too

 comparison or contrast: similarly, also, in the same way, likewise, although, at the same time, but, conversely,
even so, however, in contrast, nevertheless, nonetheless, notwithstanding, on the contrary, otherwise, still, yet

 example: for example, for instance, in fact, indeed, of course, specifically, that is, to illustrate

 purpose: for this purpose, for this reason, to this end, with this object

 time or location: nearby, above, adjacent to, below, beyond, farther on, here, opposite to, there, to the south,
before, after, later, afterward, immediately, in the meantime, meanwhile, now, since, soon, then, while

Linking Pronouns

Linking pronouns connect your sentences and help keep your subject in focus. Use linking pronouns when referring
to other nouns or pronouns.

I. Noun - A noun names a person, a place, a thing, or an idea, and is often preceded by an article (a, an, the)
A. A noun can be countable or uncountable.

1. Countable- to items or concepts that may be counted; thus, they may be either singular or plural.
Although you can often tell whether a noun is countable or uncountable by its meaning, this
determination is not always predictable. If you are unsure whether a given noun is countable or
uncountable, check a specialized dictionary. The words laboratory, electron, and hypothesis are
countable nouns (their plurals are laboratories, electrons, and hypotheses).
- Use the ending -s to form the plural of most countable nouns.
- Always use an article or some other determiner before a singular countable noun.
- Do not use an article before a plural countable noun unless you are restricting the interpretation of
the noun in some way.

2. Uncountable (mass) nouns -refer to substances, concepts, or general terms for classes of items. The
following words are uncountable nouns: oxygen (substance), education (concept), equipment (general
term).
- Do not use an article with an uncountable noun if you are referring to the noun in a general sense.

B. A noun is often preceded by a determiner, which can be an article, a demonstrative or possessive

adjective, or a quantifier.
 1. Determiner- special adjectives that identify the noun being described or that specify the quantity of
the noun.
a. Article - Is a type of determiner and indicate the specificity or nonspecificity of the noun or noun
phrase they modify.
(1) Definite – “the” signals to the reader that the noun is specific, not arbitrary, and not new to
the reader.
Use a definite article if you intend a singular noun to refer to an entire class of items. Using a
definite article with a singular noun in this way is particularly common with species of
animals, inventions, or musical instruments.
(2) Indefinite- signals that the noun is nonspecific or that other examples of the noun exist (that
the noun is not unique). Use an indefinite article (a or an) if a noun is new to the reader or is
an arbitrary example of the class that the noun belongs to.

b. Demonstrative Adjectives- are special adjectives or determiners used to identify or express the
relative position of a noun in time or space.
- comes before all other adjectives in the noun phrase. Some common demonstrative adjectives are
this, that, these, and those.
- This/that- singular nouns
These/those- plural nouns

c. Possessive adjectives- special adjectives or determiners used to express possession of a noun;

they precede all other elements in a noun phrase.
Example: Dorothy Mary Crowfoot, winner of the 1964 Nobel Prize in Chemistry, was born on
May 12, 1910 in Cairo, Egypt. Her father had studied ancient history at Oxford University.

d. Quantifiers- are determiners used to express the quantity of the noun being described. Like
possessive adjectives, quantifiers usually precede all other elements in a noun phrase. Some
common quantifiers are most, much, any, no, some, and few.
-Choose a quantifier that is appropriate for your noun. Some quantifiers can be used with all
types of nouns, some can be used only with countable nouns, and others can be used only with
uncountable nouns.

C. A noun can be described, or modified, by adjectives.

- modify nouns or pronouns. They usually precede the words they modify but they may follow them,
separated from those words by a form of the verb be or a subsititute such as seems or feels.
- can appear in the positive, comparative, or superlative degree.
1. Positive- small
2. Comparative- smaller
3. Superlative- smallest

D. Since nouns functioning as subjects can be singular or plural, their corresponding verbs must agree in
number.

 Subject- is the noun or noun phrase that performs the action within the sentence.
Verbs
  Verbs describe actions--what has happened, what is happening, or what will or might happen--or a condition.
Verbs can be divided into two categories, transitive and intransitive. A transitive verb takes an object; an
intransitive verb does not.
Verbs must always agree with their subjects.

Sometimes with the addition of auxiliary verbs, verbs express

- tense (past, present or future), the time when an action happened (or will happen)
; in all tenses, verbs can have a progressive form.
- mood (indicative, imperative, or subjunctive), the attitude of the speaker towards the action or the
certainty with which the action takes (or took) place.
- voice (active or passive), whether the subject is the doer or receiver of the action expressed by the
verb.
Each of these categories is expressed with a particular verb form (base form, present participle, or past
participle). Although the vast majority of English verbs are regular, many of the most commonly used verbs
are irregular.

Verbs can be modified, or described, by adverbs.

 Your verb must agree with your subject in number and person. If your subject is singular, your verb must be
singular; if your subject is plural, your verb must be plural. If your subject is in the first person, your verb must
be in the first person. If your subject is in the second or third person, your verb must agree.

E. Proper nouns are capitalized and have special article usage rules.
 Proper nouns are nouns that are unique and have names, such as individual people, cities, or buildings.
 The first letter of each word in the name of a proper noun should be capitalized.

Articles and Proper Nouns

In general, do not use an article with a proper noun unless the noun contains a prepositional phrase.

Unacceptable

the MIT, the America

Acceptable

MIT, America

Unacceptable

United States of America

Acceptable

the United States of America

However, there are special cases to take note of.

 You should use the definite article with a proper noun that includes or refers to geographical terms such as river,
ocean, bridge, region, or building:

Unacceptable

Charles River, Atlantic Ocean, Harvard Bridge, Northeast, Computer Museum

Acceptable

the Charles River, the Atlantic Ocean, the Harvard Bridge, the Northeast, the Computer Museum

 You should use the definite article with plural lakes, mountains, and islands:

Unacceptable

Galapagos Islands, Great Lakes, Rocky Mountains

Acceptable

the Galapagos Islands, the Great Lakes, the Rocky Mountains

Unacceptable

the Long Island, the Lake Superior, the Mount Washington

Acceptable

Long Island, Lake Superior, Mount Washington

 If you are unsure whether you should use an article with a particular proper noun, check the noun in
a specialized dictionary.

F. Nouns can be replaced by pronouns.

II. PRONOUN- A pronoun takes the place of a noun in referring to a person, a place, a thing, or an idea.

Types of Pronouns
A. Personal Pronouns- replace or refer to specific nouns, especially nouns referring to the people
or objects involved in the sentence. Common personal pronouns include I, you, her, its, and
they.
B. Relative Pronoun- serves to link the relative clause to the noun that the clause modifies. Some
common relative pronouns are that, who, whoever, and which.

-Choose a relative pronoun that is appropriate for the type of relative clause (restrictive or
nonrestrictive), the type of noun being replaced or referred to (person, thing, location, or time),
and the role that the replaced noun plays in the relative clause (subject or object).

C. Demonstrative Pronoun- replace or refer to nouns or noun phrases and, occasionally, larger
units of a sentence. This/that
D. Interrogative Pronoun- replaces unknown nouns in questions. Some common interrogative
pronouns are who, whose, what, and which.
E. Indefinite Pronoun- replaces nouns whose identity is undetermined or varies. Common
indefinite pronouns include everyone, anything, somebody, no one, and whoever.
F. Reciprocal Pronoun- special pronouns that are used when the individual members that make up
a plural subject noun take each other as their objects. Some common reciprocal pronouns are
each other and one another.
Example: The astronauts congratulated one another after successfully completing the mission.
[The members of the subject, astronauts, take the other members of their own group as
objects.]
G. Reflexive Pronoun- used when a subject noun takes itself as its own object. Some common
reflexive pronouns are myself, ourselves, oneself, and herself.
Example: Certain tomopterid worms defend themselves by squirting out a bioluminescent fluid.