Essential English Listening: A Complete Guide to Practical Linking Words (Comparison, Cause and Effect, Emphasis, and Attitude)

As you learned in the last lesson, discourse markers are linking words that show relationships between ideas or express the speaker's attitude. Today we're going to go into much more detail on how to use them in sentences, since many students know the words but make mistakes with the word order or sentence formation. I've organized the discourse markers into four categories: comparing and contrasting, cause and effect, generalizing, specifying and emphasizing, and expressing attitude.

First, comparing and contrasting. To compare two things, use these words: similarly, likewise, as. Similarly and likewise are often used to start a sentence. For example, our sales in Asia are excellent. Similarly, the market in the Middle East has shown strong growth. "As" is used in the middle of the sentence: The employees in the call center need better training as do the members of the sales team. To make a contrast, use these words: however, whereas, unlike, differently from. "However" is usually used at the beginning of a sentence: We lost money in December. However, we made record sales in January. "Whereas" is used in the middle: We lost money in December, whereas we made record sales in January. Both however and whereas are followed by a subject and verb, while unlike and differently from are followed directly by a noun.

The next category is cause and effect. To introduce a cause, use due to or owing to for more formal contexts, or because, because of, and since for informal contexts. Due to, owing to, and because of are followed by a noun: The product was discontinued due to technical problems. Because and since are followed by a subject and verb: The product was discontinued because it had technical problems. To introduce an effect, use therefore, consequently, as a result, or so. "So" is less formal. Therefore and consequently are usually placed at the beginning of a sentence: The product had technical problems. Therefore, it was discontinued. As a result can appear at the beginning or end: The product had technical problems. As a result, it was discontinued. Finally, "so" is used in the middle of a sentence: The product had technical problems so it was discontinued.

Generalizing, specifying, and emphasizing. Use these phrases to generalize: in general, on the whole, as a rule, overall, for the most part. They can go at the beginning or end of a sentence: For the most part, this company has a pleasant working environment. When summarizing a lot of information, use essentially, basically, in short. These usually appear at the beginning: Basically, the project was a failure. To give a specific example, use for example, for instance, such as, or like. For example and for instance usually go at the beginning or end of a sentence: He has many good qualities. For example, he is dedicated and honest. Such as and like are placed in the middle and are followed by a noun: He has many good qualities, such as his dedication and honesty. To give special importance, use especially or in particular: Brazil has an especially strong economy. In particular, Brazil has a strong economy.

Expressing attitude involves discourse markers that add a subtle layer of meaning. For positive facts, use fortunately, luckily, happily: Fortunately, we've acquired a hundred new clients this month. For negative facts, use unfortunately, unluckily, sadly: Sadly, we had to lay off 20 staff members due to budget constraints. To highlight unusual occurrences, use curiously, surprisingly, strangely, oddly. For certainty, use obviously, clearly, undeniably, unquestionably, definitely. For uncertainty, use apparently, presumably, reportedly, allegedly, supposedly. To express personal opinion, use frankly, honestly, to be honest, personally, I think: Honestly, this new policy won't be good for the company. To soften criticism, use rather, a bit, kind of, or sort of: Frankly, that supplier has been rather unreliable in the past. Your homework is to choose five expressions from this lesson, use them in sentences that are true or applicable to your life, and send them to homeworkatespressoinglish.net.

That’s all for the business English listening content on presentations, meetings, negotiations, and phone calls, collected by Xiao Wu from Qicai. We hope this helps you gain something useful!