Connecteurs Logiques en Anglais (Linking words)

Watch the video here

https://youtu.be/FibgNFBh9sE

Do you know, how to use On the whole, basically or incidentally?

If not, I'm going to teach you how to use these discourse markers or connecting words.

So that you can use them very comfortably in English.

Talking of/ Speaking of.

Now, the first expression or discourse marker we're going to talk about today is talking of/ speaking of.

I love this one.

I use it all the time.

We use it to - change the direction of a conversation while still keeping a link to what was said before.

I'll give you an example,

- I'm going on a date tonight to that lovely new Italian restaurant on Pine St.

Good idea! Speaking of Italian food, I made a lovely lasagna at the weekend.

And as you can see, the link is made between the Italian restaurant and the Italian food in the second sentence.

Basically

Now let's talk about Basically

I use this word all the time, almost too much in English at the beginning of sentences.

And it's used to describe the main or the most important feature or characteristic of something.

Some examples,

- What's the difference between these two TVs?

Well, basically they're the same but this one is more expensive and it has a few

extra features

Basically is saying that the most important thing to say here is that they are pretty much the same.

Another example is that a mechanic in a garage might say to you,

Look!

- Your car is basically OK but it needs some new tyres.

So, what the garage man or the mechanic is saying is that,

The most important thing is that your car is in good shape and but it does need a few changes.

One last example,

- Did you like the movie?

No, didn't like it that much.

Why not?

Well, basically it was boring. I almost fell asleep. So Yeah! I wouldn't recommend it.

In any case

Let's move on to In any case

In any case, is very similar to anyway or regardless.

Now, we use in any case

- when what we are talking about is more important than what we were just talking about

in the previous sentence.

or

- We use it to come back to the main topic after a digression.

- We didn't go away at the weekend in the end because I had too much work.

In any case, the weather was awful so we didn't miss much.

- Either he escaped from prison or he died. In any case, we never saw him again.

On the whole

On the whole, is used like generally

- We've had our bad times, but on the whole we're pretty happy.

- It was a pretty good concert, on the whole.

- On the whole, I feel that it was a good report, but it could be improved slightly.

Incidentally

Incidentally is like a formal version of ‘by the way’.

In spoken English,

we use by the way a lot but incidentally is used in more formal situations.

And it is used - to introduce something you just thought of or to change the subject.

- So we're meeting at 5 o'clock then? Incidentally, can you bring that book I lent you

last week?

And again here we can use ‘by the way’ as well.

- Secretary: Mr Peterson would like to have a meeting with you next week. Oh

and incidentally, the travel arrangements for your trip to China are all set.

All in all

Next one is all in all

All in all, means all things considered.

Now, it's similar to - on the whole or in general, but not really used in the same way.

For example,

- All in all, it wasn't a great concert

So, what you're saying here is that all things considered like the singer, the stage, the stadium, the sound, the lighting.

All things considered, it wasn't a great concert.

We use it to introduce a summary or a general statement.

For example,

you could be making an argument

How lack of sleep is bad for you.

You could say,

Well,

Lack of sleep causes:

- extreme lack of focus the next day

- and it also causes your bodily functions to not work correctly

- and it also puts you in a bad mood well

All in all, getting insufficient sleep is a bad idea.

Besides

And the last one we're going to look at today is the word Besides

Besides is used - to introduce an additional point to your argument or conversation.

- I don't think I'll come to the party. It's going to finish very late, and I have to get up

early. Besides, I won't know anyone there.

- She won't mind if you're late for the wedding. Besides, it's not your fault, you have

an interview you can't cancel.

- Besides is not to be confused with the (preposition of place) Beside.

- Beside is next to.

And so

- The photocopier is beside the water cooler.

That's not the same thing at all.

And the Besides which introduces an additional point - has an ‘s’ on the end of it at all times.

So, they were seven new discourse markers for you to practice.

And what better way to practice, is that to write a sentence in the comments of this video and just to make sure that you have understood correctly, and of course like I do every time, I will comment if it's correct or thumbs up if it's good and I will correct it if you have made a mistake.

Okay!

Thanks and see you next time : )

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