domingo, 11 de noviembre de 2012

Conectores y conjunciones en Inglés - Conjunctions and linking words



Conjunctions are used to link at least two ideas. They help to create continuity or ‘flow’ in a text. A sentence containing a conjunction needs two parts.

Sirven para unir ideas enlazando oraciones y creando distintas relaciones entre ellas. Ayudan a crear continuidad y fluidez en el texto. Se pueden agrupar en las siguientes categorías:

1. Conjunctions of addition and replacement. Add more information to what is already there. Unen algo a lo ya mencionado añadiendo información

And – y. Ideas are often linked by and

Also – También, además. Used to add an extra idea or emphasis. We don’t usually start a sentence with also. We are concerned not only by the costs, but also by the competition. He plays the piano and also sings

Too – También. Goes either at the end of the sentence, or after the subject.

As well as – También. Often used to mean in addition to. Can be used at the beginning or in the middle of a sentence. As well as the cost, we are concerned by the competition. We are interested in costs as well as the competition.

In addition – Además. To start a sentence with a phrase that means also.

Moreover – Además, por otra parte. The contract moreover stipulates that... (el contrato estipulaba además o por otra parte que.... Marketing plans give us an idea of the potential market. Moreover, they tell us about the competition.

Furthermore – Además. Furthermore , we need to consider his motives.

Further = Furthermore – Más, además.

Besides – Además, excepto. Often used to mean as well as or in addition to. There are five others coming besides you. No one knows besides you

Apart from -

Not only...but also... - no solo...sino también.... To give emphasis. We are concerned Not only by the costs, but also by the competition

Not only...but...as well - no solo...sino...también

No sooner...than... - apenas...cuando...

2. Conjunctions of comparison and contrast ideas.

To link two ideas that are considered to be similar.

In the same way, in a similar way, similarly – De manera parecida o similar, similarmente, igualmente

Likewise- Asimismo, de la misma manera

Just as- Así como, de la misma manera que.

Both...and... - Tanto...como... / ambas cosas

To link two ideas that are considered to be different.

But – Pero. She was fired, but they were not la despidieron a ella pero no a ellos

However – Sin embargo, no obstante.

But is more informal than however. It is normally used at the beginning of a sentence.

- He works hard, but he doesn’t earn much.

- He works hard. However, he doesn’t earn much.

In contrast, on the other hand, on the contrary – Por el contrario.

Instead – En vez de, en lugar de. I watched TV instead of doing my homework.

Nevertheless, nonetheless – Sin embargo, no obstante. She didn’t like the price. Nevertheless, she bought it anyway.

Yet – Pero, sin embargo. I like it, yet it could be improved.

Still – Aún así, de todos modos. They say it's safe, but I'm still scared, I don't think it will work; sitll, we can always try (no creo que funcione; pero bueno, igual podemos intentarlo)

Even so – Aún así. I know you don’t like vegetables, but even so you must eat them.

Neither … nor – Ni.....ni. she neither knows nor cares! (¡ni sabe ni le importa!)

To contrast one idea with another. Indican una objeción o reparo a lo dicho anteriormente.

Though, although, even though – Aunque. Although it was hot, se went out with a pullover.

Despite / in spite of - A pesar de. In spite of the hot, she went out with a pullover.

Notwithstanding

Whereas - Mientras que, en tanto que. I really like fish, whereas my wife can't stand it. (A mí me encanta el pescado, mientras que mi mujer lo odia).

While – Mientras, mientras que. While you were asleep (mientras dormías)

Unlike- A diferecia de. Unlike in the UK, the USA has cheap petrol.


3. Conjunctions of exemplification, restatement and summarising

Conjunctions of exemplification.

For example / for instance – Por ejemplo. There are many ways of interesting young children in reading. For instance, regular trips to the library have been shown to greatly increase children’s awareness of books.

Such as- Tal como.

Namely – Especificamente, concretamente. Namely refers to something by name. There are two problems: namely, the expense and the time.

Conjunctions of restatement (reafirmación) and summarising: That is, to put it another way, in other words, to sum up, in brief (en resumen), in short, in summary, to summarise, in a nutshell (en pocas palabras, en resumen), to conclude, in conclusion.

We normally use at the beginning of the sentence to give a summary of what we have said or written.

4. Conjunctions of cause and condition

Conjunctions of cause highlight a cause-effect relationship between two ideas or give a reason why something happens or is the case.

Due to (debido a) and owing to (debido a, por motivo de).

Due to and owing to must be followed by a noun. If you want to follow due to and owing to with a clause (a subject, verb and object), you must follow the words with the fact that.

Ex: Due to the fact that oil prices have risen, the inflation rate has gone up by 1%.

Thus– Así, por consiguiente

Therefore –Por tanto, por eso.

So – Así que, por lo que.

Hence – Así que. You are going to be late, hence run!

Because / because of – Because can be use at the beginning or in the middle of a sentence. Because it was raining, we carried the umbrellas

For this reason – Por esta razón

As – Ya que, porque, aunque

As a result – Como resultado, como consecuencia.

Consequently - Consiguientemente, por consiguiente

Since – Como

Conjunctions of condition outline or suggest the conditions under which something happens or is the case and include terms such as:

Unless – A menos que, a no ser que.

In that case - En ese caso

That being so - Siendo ese el caso.

If – Si bien. If literacy levels are to improve, more resources have to be put into teacher training.

5. Conjunctions of time

Conjunctions of time locate or sequence ideas in time. Ideas or events can be located in real world time or text time. Examples of conjunctions of time include:

The former – El primero, la primera.

The latter – El último.

The former and the latter are useful when you want to refer to one of two points. Marketing and finance are both covered in the course. The former is studied in the first term and the latter is studied in the final term.

Lastly – Finalmente, por último.

The first point – El punto primero.

The following – El siguiente. The following people have been chosen to go on the thaining course.

After – Despues.

Afterwards – Despues, luego, más tarde.

Before – Antes, anteriormente.

Previously – Previamente.

Prior to – Antes de

At present – En el presente.

Second(ly), third(ly), finally are useful way to list ideas.