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Discourse Markers

🔄 Changing Topic or Returning

  • Talking of… / Speaking of… – To change the direction of a conversation, but making a link with what has just been said.
  • By the way / Incidentally – To introduce something you just have thought of, or to change the subject.
  • As I was saying – Used to return to a previous topic, especially after a digression or interruption.
  • As far as (someone) is concerned / As regards / Regarding – To introduce a new topic or shift the focus.
  • In any case / Anyway To introduce the idea that what you said before is less important than you are saying now, or return to the main topic after a digression.
  • After all - To introduce an argument that the other person may not have considered.
  • That is to say - To introduce an explanation or clarification of a point you have just made.

📌 Adding Information

  • Furthermore / Moreover / What’s more – To add more support or information.
  • In addition (to that) – To introduce extra information.
  • Not only that, but… – Adds emphasis when introducing a further point.
  • Besides – Adds a new point, often reinforcing an argument.

❗ Emphasizing

  • Basically – To highlight the core idea or main point.
  • Obviously - To introduce a fact that is very clear to see or understand.
  • Indeed / Actually / In fact / As a matter of fact – To stress something unexpected or surprising.
  • What I’d really like to stress is…
  • It’s important to highlight that…

✏️ Clarifying & Explaining

  • I mean – To clarify or give more details.
  • That is to say – Introduces an explanation or clarification.
  • In other words / To put it another way – To rephrase for better understanding.
  • This means that… / To make this clearer…

⚖️ Contrasting & Conceding

  • However / Nevertheless / That being said – Show contrast or opposition.
  • On the one hand / On the other hand – To balance contrasting points; “on the other hand” can be used alone.
  • Although / Even though / While / Whereas – To introduce contrasting ideas.
  • In spite of – Indicates contrast despite circumstances.

📍 Giving Examples

  • For example / For instance – To introduce an example.
  • Namely – Specifies something mentioned earlier.
  • Such as – To list specific examples.
  • To illustrate – Introduces a clarifying example or scenario.
  • As like / Such as - To introduce an example.

➡️ Cause and Effect

  • Because / Because of – Shows the reason or cause.
  • Due to – Indicates a cause or reason.
  • As a result / Therefore / Consequently – Shows the result or effect of something.

🧩 Qualifying / Softening

  • At least – Softens a statement or adds a positive point after negative information.
  • Otherwise – Shows a different outcome or condition if something doesn’t happen.

🔚 Concluding / Summarizing

  • In conclusion / To sum up / Ultimately – Used to close or summarize.
  • Overall / All things considered – To express a final general point.
  • In summary – Wraps up key ideas.
  • All in all - To say that you are taking everything into consideration.
  • The key idea is that… / One of the main points is…

🧱 Structuring Ideas

  • Firstly / Secondly / Finally – Organize and order points clearly.
  • Moreover / Furthermore / In addition – For continuation.
  • However / On the other hand – For contrast.
  • As a result / Therefore – For cause-effect relationships.
  • On the whole - to generalize.