ListofTransitionWordsforwriting

Thisstructuredlistofcommonlyusedenglishtransitionwords(approximately200,sothelistisquasicomplete)canbeused(by
studentsandteachers)tofindtherightexpression.Englishtransitionwordsandphrasesareessential,sincetheynotonlyconnect
ideas,butalsocanintroduceacertainshift,contrastoropposition,emphasisoragreement,purpose,resultorconclusion,etc.inthe
lineofargument.
Thetransitionwordsandphrases(alsocalleddevices)havebeenassignedonlyoncetosomewhatartificialcategories,althoughsome
wordsbelongtomorethanonecategory.
Toimproveyourwriting(inessays,(scientific)reviews,(research)papers,letters,abstracts,reports,thesis,etc),itisessentialto
understandhow,transitionwordscanbeusedtocombineideasinwriting.Itisalsofundamentaltobeawareofthesometimessubtle
meaningoftransitionwordswithintheenglishlanguage.
Pleasefeelfreetodownloadthecorrespondingandcomprehensive2pagecheatsheetTransitionWordsandPhrasesasPDF
(approx.30KB).

Agreement/Addition/Similarity
Thetransitionaldeviceslikealso,inaddition,and,likewise,addinformation,reinforceideas,andexpressagreementwith
precedingmaterial.
inthefirstplace
inlikemanner
inthesamefashion/way
nottomention
bythesametoken
and
equally
like
moreover
ofcourse
correspondingly
additionally

notonly...butalso
inaddition
first,second,third
tosaynothingof
again
also
identically
as
aswellas
likewise
similarly

asamatteroffact
coupledwith
inthelightof
equallyimportant
to
then
uniquely
too
togetherwith
comparatively
furthermore

Opposition/Limitation/Contradiction
Transitionwordsandphraseslikebut,ratherandor,expressthatthereisevidencetothecontraryorpointoutalternatives,andthus
introduceachangethelineofreasoning(contrast).
althoughthismaybetrue
ofcourse...,but
atthesametime
bethatasitmay
inreality
(and)still
(and)yet
besides
whereas
otherwise
nevertheless

incontrast
ontheotherhand
inspiteof
thenagain
afterall
unlike
while
although
despite
however
regardless

differentfrom
onthecontrary
evenso/though
aboveall
but
or
albeit
instead
conversely
rather
notwithstanding

Examples/Support/Emphasis
Thesetransitionaldevices(likeespecially)areusedtointroduceexamplesassupport,toindicateimportanceorasanillustrationso
thatanideaiscuedtothereader.
inotherwords
asanillustration
toputitanotherway
byallmeans
importanttorealize
mostcompellingevidence
topointout
notably
tobesure
truly
surely
especially
surprisingly
infact
indetail
todemonstrate
toclarify

toputitdifferently
inthiscase
thatistosay
anotherkeypoint
mustberemembered
onthepositive/negativeside
including
namely
indeed
markedly
specifically
frequently
ingeneral
forexample
toemphasize
toexplain

foronething
forthisreason
withattentionto
firstthingtoremember
pointoftenoverlooked
withthisinmind
like
chiefly
certainly
expressively
significantly
inparticular
forinstance
torepeat
toenumerate
suchas

Cause/Condition/Purpose
Thesetransitionalwordspresentspecificconditionsorintentions.
intheeventthat
on(the)condition(that)
withthisinmind
forfearthat
inviewof
unless
whenever

since
incase
only/evenif
owingto

granted(that)
forthepurposeof
inthehopethat
inorderto
If

since
becauseof
while
providedthat
sothat
inasmuchas

as/solongas
withthisintention
totheendthat
seeing/beingthat
...then
when
while
as
lest
giventhat
soasto
dueto

Effect/Consequence/Result
Someofthesetransitionwords(thus,then,accordingly,consequently,therefore,henceforth)aretimewordsthatareusedtoshowthat
afteraparticulartimetherewasaconsequenceoraneffect.
Notethatforandbecauseareplacedbeforethecause/reason.Theotherdevicesareplacedbeforetheconsequencesoreffects.
asaresult
forthisreason
becausethe
consequently
forthwith

underthosecircumstances
for
then
therefore
accordingly

inthatcase
thus
hence
thereupon
henceforth

Conclusion/Summary/Restatement
Thesetransitionwordsandphrasesconclude,summarizeand/orrestateideas,oraindicateafinalgeneralstatement.Alsosome
words(liketherefore)fromtheEffect/Consequencecategorycanbeusedtosummarize.
ascanbeseen
allthingsconsidered
giventhesepoints
forthemostpart
insummary
inbrief
onbalance
ordinarily
tosumup
ineithercase

generallyspeaking
asshownabove
ashasbeennoted
afterall
inconclusion
inessence
altogether
usually
onthewhole
allinall

inthefinalanalysis
inthelongrun
inaword
infact
inshort
tosummarize
overall
byandlarge
inanyevent

Time/Chronology/Sequence
Thesetransitionalwords(likefinally)havethefunctionoflimiting,restricting,anddefiningtime.Theycanbeusedeitheraloneoras
partofadverbialexpressions.
atthepresenttime
atthesametime
induetime
inthemeantime
inthefirstplace
finally
last
then
since
about
suddenly
whenever
further
intime
straightaway
instantly
fromtimetotime

uptothepresenttime
untilnow
inamoment
allofasudden
immediately
after
until
before
when
next
shortly
eventually
during
priorto
presently
soonerorlater
tobeginwith

assoonas
withoutdelay
atthisinstant
quickly
later
since
hence
once
now
formerly
henceforth
meanwhile
first,second
forthwith
occasionally

Manytransitionwordsinthetimecategory(consequently;first,second,third;further;hence;henceforth;since;then,when;and
whenever)haveotheruses.
Exceptforthenumbers(first,second,third)andfurthertheyaddameaningoftimeinexpressingconditions,qualifications,or
reasons.Thenumbersarealsousedtoaddinformationorlistexamples.Furtherisalsousedtoindicateaddedspaceaswellasadded
time.

Space/Location/Place
Thesetransitionwordsareoftenusedaspartofadverbialexpressionsandhavethefunctiontorestrict,limitorqualifyspace.Quitea
fewofthesearealsofoundintheTimecategoryandcanbeusedtodescribespatialorderorspatialreference.
inthemiddle
onthisside
intheforeground
here
where
near
down
further
wherever
before
among
behind
totheleft/right

inthedistance
inthebackground
adjacentto
there
from
above
up
beyond
around
alongside
beneath
across

infrontof
hereandthere
inthecenterof
oppositeto
next
over
below
under
nearby
between
amid
beside

UsageofTransitionWords
Transitionwordsandphrasesarevitaldevicesforessays,papersorotherliterarycompositions.Theyimprovetheconnectionsand
transitionsbetweensentencesandparagraphs.Theythusgivethetextalogicalorganizationandstructure(seealso:aListof
Synonyms).
Allenglishtransitionwordsandphrases(sometimesalsocalled'conjunctiveadverbs')dothesameworkascoordinating
conjunctions:theyconnecttwowords,phrasesorclausestogetherandthusthetextiseasiertoreadandthecoherenceisimproved.
Usage:transitionwordsandphrasesareusedwithaspecialruleforpunctuation:asemicolonoraperiodisusedafterthefirst
'sentence',andacommaisalmostalwaysusedtosetoffthetransitionwordfromthesecond'sentence'.
Example1:
Peopleuse43muscleswhentheyfrown;however,theyuseonly28muscleswhentheysmile.
Example2:
However,transitionwordscanalsobeplacedatthebeginningofanewparagraphorsentencenotonlytoindicateastep
forwardinthereasoning,butalsotorelatethenewmaterialtotheprecedingthoughts.
Useasemicolontoconnectsentences,onlyifthegroupofwordsoneithersideofthesemicolonareacompletesentenceeach(both
musthaveasubjectandaverb,andcouldthusstandaloneasacompletethought).

CoordinatingConjunctions
Acoordinatingconjunctionusuallycomesinthemiddleofasentence,andacommaisusedbeforetheconjunction(unlessboth
clausesareveryshort).Theyjoinindividualwords,phrases,andindependentclauses.
Whereascoordinatingconjunctionsjoinpartsofa'sentence',thepurposeoftransitionalwordsandphrasesusuallyistojointwo
'sentences'.

Examples:
Wecandrawlessonsfromthepast,butwecannotliveinit.[LyndonB.Johnson]
Thepurposeofmostcomputerlanguagesistolengthenyourresumebyawordandacomma.[LarryWall]
And,but,for,nor,or,so,andyetarethesevencoordinatingconjunctions.Torememberthem,theacronymFANBOYScanbe
used.

F=for
A=and
N=nor
B=but
O=or
Y=yet
S=so

SubordinatingConjunctions
Subordinatingconjunctions,alsocalledsubordinators,areconjunctionsthatintroduceadependentclause.Theseadverbsthatactlike
conjunctionsareplacedatthefrontoftheclauseandacommaisneededattheendoftheadverbialphrasewhenitprecedesthemain
clause.
Examples:
Iftheonlytoolyouhaveisahammer,youtendtoseeeveryproblemasanail.[AbrahamMaslow]
Somepeoplemakeheadlineswhileothersmakehistory.[PhilipElmerDeWitt]

after
asif
before
incasethat
nowthat
since
that
unless
when
whether
who
why

although
aslongas
how
inorderthat
once
sothat
though
until
where
which
whom

as
because
(only)if
providedthat
ratherthan
than
till
what
whereas
while
whose

CorrelativeConjunctions
Correlativeconjunctionsalwaysappearinpairsandusedtolinkequivalent(similar)sentenceelements.Whenjoiningsingularand
pluralsubjects,thesubjectclosesttotheverbdetermineswhethertheverbissingularorplural.
as...as
either...or
not...but

justas...so
neither...nor
whether...or

both...and
notonly...butalso

Referencestofurther(List)Resources(Transition
Words,Grammar,Writing,Slang,...)
Itisextremelydifficulttofindsomelanguagerelatedsite,whicharenotplasteredwithanoyingads.Thesitelistedbelwoarenot
100%advertisementfree,butuseit(ifatall)verydiscreetlysofar(March2009).
HyperGrammarabodyofrulesspecifyinghowphrasesandsentencesareconstructed
AnonlinegrammarcourseattheUniversityofOttawa'sWritingCentre.Coversthebasicprinciplesofenglishgrammar:Partsof
Speech,Punctuation,Spelling,etc.
GuidetoGrammarandWritingCapitalCommunityCollegeConnecticut
Anonlinegrammarcoursewhichcoversallsortsoflanguageandgrammartopics.
WorldWideWordsInfromationaboutinternationalEnglishfromaBritishperspective
Alargecollectionofarticles,bookreviews,topicalwords,explanationofwordsthatarerelativelynewandwhichoftenhavenotyet
reachedthedictionaries,awellorganizedlistoflinkstootherwordsites,etc.
WordsmithA.Word.A.Day(AWAD)
Amailinglist:anewwordsendoutviaemaileveryweekday,containingsome"sponsors'messages"inthenonpremiumversion.
GovSpeakAGuidetoGovernmentAcronyms&Abbreviations
ThislistwascreatedinApril2000fortheIndianaUniversityPurdueUniversityIndianapolisLibrary.Theauthorisnolonger
affiliatedwiththatinstitution,buthasreceivedauthorizationtorecreateandprovidecontinuedmaintenanceforthiswebpage.
AmericanSlangfromthepast(thejustelapsedcentury)
Intheearly60's,astoday,youngpeoplehadadifferentvocabularyandit,astoday,drovetheirparentsnuts.Acollection/listofslang
wordsthatwereusedinthesixtiesandearliereras.
UnitedKingdomEnglishfortheAmericanNovice
SixthEdition,July1983"English"to"American"Dictionary.TheitemsinthislistwerecollectedwhiletheauthorlivedintheUnited
Kingdomfrom1981to1983.
BritishSlangTheEnglishtoAmericanDictionary
Basedonthebook(andbythesameauthor):"TheSeptic'sCompanion:AMercifullyBriefGuidetoBritishCultureandSlang".

WritingLinks&LinksforWritersDictionary,Grammar,Etymology,Usage,...

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