- Show the connection between what a speaker is saying and what has already been said or what is going to be said
- Help make the structure of what is being said clear
- Indicate what speakers think about what they are saying or what others have said.
They show the connection between what is being said and the wider context and we use them to make our text stick together, to make it ‘cohesive’.
Discourse markers are used in speaking and in writing. Some of the informal discourse markers are often used in informal emails.
[col 10 first] [table format=1]| Focusing and Linking
(these can introduce a new topic, or announce a change of subject) |
To Introduce the Most Important or Fundamental Point | Emphasise a Contrast |
| With reference to
Talking/speaking of/about Regarding As regards As far as … is concerned As for |
Basically | However
Nevertheless (more formal) Mind you (informal – spoken) Still Yet In spite of this |
| Balancing Contrasting Thoughts | To Introduce a Fact that Is Very Clear to See or Understand (spoken) | To Say that You Are Taking Everything Into Consideration |
| While
On the other hand Whereas |
Obviously
Clearly
|
All in all |
| Similarity | Concession | Counter-Argument |
| Similarly
In the same way |
It is true
Of course Certainly
|
However
Even so But Nevertheless Nonetheless All the same Still
|
| Contradicting | Dismissal of Previous Discourse—to Introduce a Positive Point After Some Negative Information | Change of Subject (usually used in conversation, and sometimes in informal emails) |
| On the contrary | Anyway
Anyhow At any rate At least (For example: It was a bad accident, but at least no one was killed.) |
By the way
Incidentally Right All right Now Okay Talking of … |
| Return to Previous Subject (spoken) | To Add Additional Information or Arguments | Generalising |
| As I was saying | Moreover
Furthermore In addition As well as that On top of that (spoken) Another thing is (spoken) What is more Besides (spoken) In any case
|
On the whole
In general In all/most/many/some cases Broadly speaking By and large To a greater extent To some extent Apart from … Except for … |
| Giving Examples | Logical Consequence | Making Things Clear; Giving Details; to Say Something in Another Way |
| For instance
For example In particular |
Therefore
As a result Consequently So Then
|
I mean (spoken)
Actually (spoken) That is to say In other words
|
| Softening and Correcting (spoken) | Gaining Time (spoken) | Showing One’s Attitude to What One is Saying (spoken) |
| I think
I feel I reckon I guess In my view/opinion Apparently So to speak More or less Sort of Kind of Well Really That is to say At least I’m afraid I suppose Rather Actually I mean |
Let me see
Let’s see Well You know I don’t know I mean Kind of Sort of
|
Honestly
Frankly No doubt |
| Persuading (Spoken) | To Say what the result would be if the situation were different | Referring to Others’ Expectations (Usually spoken) |
| After all
Look Look here No doubt |
Otherwise | Actually
In fact As a matter of fact To tell the truth Well
|
| Summing up | Introduce Additional Surprising/Unexpected Information (spoken) | Structuring |
| In conclusion
To sum up Briefly In short
|
Actually
In fact As a matter of fact |
First(ly)
First of all Lastly Finally To begin with To start with For one thing For another thing |
Sources:
Swan, M (1996), Practical English Usage, Oxford University Press
Seely, J (2007), Oxford A – Z of Grammar & Punctuation, Oxford University Press
Oxenden, C and Latham-Koenig, C, (2010), New English File – Advanced Student’s Book, Oxford University Press
