Add these linking words to

your vocabulary to sound

more professional

A common goal for professionals with an

intermediate to advanced level of English is to
improve their proficiency to participate in meetings,
or just in general conversation.
An excellent way to speak English more professionally is by replacing basic linking words
(e.g. “but,” “and,” “because”) with advanced linking words (e.g. “in spite of,” “due to”).

Doing this will enlarge your vocabulary and improve your structure at the same time.

Remember that your first and most important objective when using English should always
be to communicate your message clearly.

And once you feel confident that you can express yourself in a clear way, you can then
advance and start looking at ways of sounding more native-like.
Quick Review: What
are linking words?

A linking word is a word or phrase which links parts of a

sentence, or two sentences together.

“But,” “because,” “and,” "so," are examples of basic

linking words (also called conjunctions), which we use
frequently.

“However,” “although,” “therefore,” "in spite

of,""nevertheless," are examples of advanced linking
words. We use these less frequently than the basic
linking words.
How to Start Using We are going to look at
Advanced Linking Words to three common functions
Sound More Professional when using linking words

The idea here is not to completely replace

basic linking words with advanced linking 1. Adding ideas.
words, as they form part of the foundation
of the English language. 2. Explaining expected results, outcomes
and consequences.
Our objective is to use advanced linking
words from time to time. 3. Conflicting ideas.

Then I’ll demonstrate how you can replace

basic linking words with advanced linking
words.
Function 1: Adding ideas.

01 03
Typically we use the basic linking words “and,” In this example, we look at the “adding” idea of
“also,”and “too,” to express "adding" ideas. a company acquiring two other companies.

02
You can replace these basic linking words, with
the advanced linking words, “besides,” “in
addition to,” “as well as,” and “furthermore.”
 Basic linking word Advanced linking words
examples: examples:

Last year we acquired two companies: Besides acquiring ABC last year, we took
ABC and XYZ. over XYZ.
Last year we acquired ABC. We also In addition to acquiring ABC last year,we
acquired XYZ. took over XYZ.
Last year we acquired the company As well as acquiring ABC last year, we took
over XYZ.
ABC. We acquired XYZ too.
Last year we acquired ABC company.
Furthermore, we took over XYZ.
(“Furthermore” implies that taking over XYZ
You can also use synonyms to increase your proficiency. Instead of using the was more important than acquiring ABC.)
verb “acquire” twice in the same sentence. I used the phrasal verb “take
over” in the second sentence clause.
Function 2: Explaining expected results,
outcomes, and consequences.

01 03
When we express expected results, outcomes In this example, I use the idea that a smaller
and consequences, we typically use the basic advertising budget will result in fewer sales.
linking words: “because” and “so.”

02
You can replace these basic linking words with
the advanced linking words, “as a result,” “as a
consequence,” "consequently", “due to,” and
“therefore.”
Basic linking word
examples:
Because of our smaller advertising
budget, we made fewer sales.
We made fewer sales because of our
smaller advertising budget.
We had a smaller advertising budget, so
we made fewer sales.
Advanced linking words
examples:
Asa result of the smaller advertising budget,
we made fewer sales.
We had a smaller advertising budget and,
as a consequence, we made fewer sales.
We had a smaller advertising budget.
Consequently, we made fewer sales.
Due to having a smaller advertising budget,
we made fewer sales.
We had a smaller advertising
budget.Therefore, we made fewer sales.
Function 3: Conflicting ideas (explaining
unexpected results/ outcomes).

01 03
When we talk about two conflicting ideas in one In this example, we’ll use the conflicting idea of
sentence, we often use the basic linking word, selling fewer products, but making more profit.
“but.”

02
You can replace"but" with more advanced
linking words: ”although,” “however,” “in spite of
(the fact that),” “despite (the fact that),”
“nevertheless", and “yet,” to sound more
professional.
Basic linking word Advanced linking words
examples: examples:

Although we sold fewer products, we made more profit.

We sold fewer products. However, we made more profit.
We sold fewer products but made
In spite of selling fewer products, we made more profit.
more profit.
In spite of the fact that we sold fewer products, we
made more profit.
Despite selling fewer products, we made more profit.
Despite the fact that we sold fewer products, we made
more profit.
We sold fewer products. Nevertheless, we made more
profit.
We sold fewer products,yet made more profit.
blast off!!

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Us

Email Address

ameliaposleman@ispeakteam.com

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