How To Connect Ideas In English [with Linking Words]
mmmEnglish
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-JqAs_vdQb8

Transkript (automatisch erstellt)

0:00 Well hey there I'm Emma from mmmEnglish. I''ve got a very interesting English lesson for you today.
0:07 I'm going to teach you seven extremely common English linking words plus their professional equivalents.
0:15 So linking words are words that link ideas together as you speak and you write so it's a really useful skill to have.
0:23 They are useful words to know. But in this lesson we're going to practise the casual,
0:28 everyday conversational linking words alongside the more formal alternatives that will make you sound
0:35 more professional when you're linking ideas together in English. You probably know already that spoken English is
0:43 generally more casual whereas written English is more formal. And it's important to understand the formal and the informal
0:52 uses of language. When you use formal language while you're speaking in just
0:56 a regular everyday conversation, there is a danger that you'll sound a bit stiff and a bit serious.
1:04 And if you use the casual, informal versions in a professional context,
1:10 well that's okay but you just might not sound as convincing or as professional as you want to.
1:16 All of the words in this lesson are extremely useful to help you communicate clearly and effectively in any situation
1:24 so I recommend you watch it all the way through to the end. I just want to take a few seconds here to give a little shout-out
1:36 to the members of Hey Lady! who are watching today. Hey ladies! It's great to see you here.
1:42 If you haven't heard yet, Hey Lady! is our online community helping women to succeed in English.
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2:02 It's the perfect place to practise because you can make mistakes without feeling judged and make real progress
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2:25 free for ten days. I've put the link down in the description below,
2:30 make sure you check it out and I hope to see you inside! Today you get to meet casual Emma and professional Emma.
2:39 Casual Emma is going to tell you about her recent trip to Portugal. And professional Emma is going to talk to you about
2:47 tourism trends in Portugal. Now I want you to sit back and watch and enjoy the story
2:54 but all the while see if you can identify some of the linking words that get used.
2:59 Words in my sentences that link to ideas or two thoughts together. I just got back from my trip to Portugal.
3:08 And I'm exhausted. It was an amazing trip
3:11 but I'm really struggling with the jetlag this time. If I can afford it, I'd fly business class
3:17 or maybe break up the trip by staying a night in Dubai. That might help.
3:22 We wanted really comfortable weather so we travelled in May. It wasn't too hot, it wasn't too cold, it was perfect.
3:30 I'd love to go back again soon because there's just still so much I want to see and do.
3:36 I really enjoyed the food on this trip, sweets like pasteis de nata, custard tarts and seafood like bacahlau, salted cod.
3:46 Everything in Portugal is beautiful, especially those stunning patterned tiles that you see everywhere.
3:54 Did you notice some of the linking words while I was talking? I used and,
3:59 or, but,
4:02 so because,
4:06 like and especially.
4:10 These are some of the most common linking words in English and I feel pretty confident that you know at least
4:19 some of them. Most of them if not all of them.
4:22 But if you're feeling a little unsure about the function or the meaning in English sentences, don't worry
4:28 because we're going to review how all of these words are used in English, what their function is, once we hear from
4:35 professional Emma. Professional Emma is going to give you a presentation
4:39 and it's going to feel a little more formal because of the language that she's using.
4:44 In it, you're going to hear seven more linking words that are often used in this type of context, in this formal context.
4:52 All of these words are still very common in spoken English but they are noticeably more
4:57 formal than the ones we just went through. Good morning! I'm here today to talk to you about tourism
5:04 in Portugal. Portugal experiences mild winters and hot summers. As a result, it's popular in summer as well as winter.
5:13 The diverse landscape ensures that tourists can enjoy either a coastal holiday or a trip to the mountains.
5:20 In fact, Portugal was voted the best European destination to visit by car in 2021.
5:27 Since Portugal shares a border with Spain, it's logical that many tourists are Spanish. Lisbon is by far the most popular destination.
5:37 Tourists enjoy activities such as visiting the Alfama neighbourhood or catching the vintage tram 28 through historic neighbourhoods.
5:46 International tourism has not yet recovered to pre-pandemic levels whereas domestic tourism is currently booming.
5:55 There's just so much to see, even for the Portuguese themselves. So did you catch any of these linking words?
6:03 Each one of them is the formal or more professional equivalent of the linking words that we heard before.
6:11 Professional Emma used words like as well as, whereas,
6:16 either or, as a result.
6:19 since, such as,
6:21 in fact. We use and and as well as
6:26 for adding information. We can replace and with as well as if you want to sound a little bit more formal or
6:35 maybe you just want to add a little bit of variety into your sentence so instead of saying and and and and,
6:44 we can add that variety by using as well as. Portugal is a popular destination in summer and winter.
6:52 Or we could say it's popular in summer as well as winter. To show contrast we can use but in casual conversational English
7:03 and whereas to sound a little bit more professional. International tourism has not yet recovered to pre-pandemic levels
7:12 but domestic tourism is booming and we can simply switch out but for whereas.
7:18 Whereas domestic tourism is booming. But is definitely a way more common way to contrast ideas
7:25 but that's exactly why it helps to use whereas to sound a little bit more intelligent,
7:32 a little bit more official, a little bit more professional. Now let's look at or and either or.
7:39 We use these conjunctions to show alternatives or options or choices.
7:45 Enjoy a coastal holiday or a trip to the mountains. So here we have one option and here's the other.
7:53 Option one and option two. Using either or has the same meaning.
7:59 Enjoy either a coastal holiday or a trip to the mountains. One important thing to note here is that we use or and either or
8:09 to connect two things of the same grammatical type in a sentence so that means we connect two nouns or two verbs
8:19 or two clauses together. Two of the same thing in the sentence.
8:24 Do you prefer chips or popcorn? So we're connecting nouns. Either you're driving me home or I'm catching a taxi.
8:31 So here we're connecting clauses. Let's take a closer look at this word here for a second.
8:37 Is it either? Or either?
8:40 Have you heard English speakers using both types of pronunciation?
8:44 Both of them are correct. I want you to practise a little with me. Either.
8:57 You could choose either or either, it really makes no difference at all. in fact, I use them both.
9:03 But this interesting combination of pronunciation creates another really useful interesting expression that you can learn.
9:11 If someone gives you two options to choose from but you really don't care which one
9:18 you can say either, either or
9:23 either or, I don't mind. So it literally means
9:27 I'm not fussed, I don't mind, I don't care which one we do because both of them are fine with me.
9:34 Either, either. Either, or.
9:37 So connects a reason with a result. The weather is nice all year
9:43 so Portugal is popular with tourists. So here's the reason, the nice weather.
9:51 And the result is that Portugal is popular. When we use so in this way to connect a reason to a result
9:59 in our sentence, so always comes in the middle of our sentence because it's linking these two clauses,
10:06 these two ideas together. And we can replace so with as a result almost interchangeably.
10:14 So is more casual, as a result is more formal but there is one little change that we need to make,
10:22 really important little change. We need to add and ahead of as a result.
10:29 If it's in the middle of a sentence we must make sure that we add and.
10:33 Portugal has nice weather and as a result, it's very popular with tourists.
10:39 We can also use as a result at the beginning of our sentence as well.
10:44 As a result of the nice weather, Portugal is popular with tourists. So can you see the difference in the way that these two examples
10:52 are structured? Here as a result connects two full sentences together
10:58 but here it connects a noun phrase with a sentence. Now sometimes you want to focus on the reason for something
11:07 rather than the result. That's when because and since come in really handy.
11:13 Because the weather is nice all year, Portugal is popular with tourists.
11:18 Or since the weather is nice, Portugal is popular with tourists. Because is really common in both speaking and writing
11:27 but since is definitely the more formal choice here. They can both be placed at the beginning of a sentence
11:35 which helps to put some extra focus on the reason for something.
11:40 And both of them can be used in the middle of a sentence. I want to go back to Portugal because there's so much to see!
11:47 I want to go back to Portugal since there's still so much to see.
11:51 Now if you're trying to decide between so and as a result or because and since,
11:59 you need to think about where you want the focus of your sentence to be, on the reason
12:06 or the result? That's how you make your choice.
12:09 Next up we have like and such as. Now I want you to forget about to like which means enjoy.
12:19 When we're using like as a conjunction or a linking word like this it means for example.
12:25 In Portugal, I really enjoyed the food, sweets like pasteis de nata and seafood like bacalhau.
12:34 So we can replace like with for example or such as and in a professional or a formal setting, they're much better
12:42 choices but in casual everyday conversations, like sounds so much more natural, friendly and relaxed.
12:50 There's one more thing that I want to point out. Have a look.
12:55 Tourists enjoy activities such as visiting the Alfama neighbourhood or catching tram 28.
13:03 Like and such are always followed by a noun or a pronoun, aren't they? Like pasteis de nata and bacalhau.
13:11 So if you want to use a verb you need to make sure that it's a gerund, it's the -ing form like
13:19 visiting or catching here. Last of all we have especially and in fact.
13:26 These words are not actually interchangeable but they have a similar function in our sentences.
13:32 Both of them are used to emphasise a point, especially is an adverb and we use it to
13:39 add emphasis to something, it shows that one thing is more of something than other things or people.
13:47 Everything in Portugal is beautiful, especially the patterned pavements.
13:52 The landscape is beautiful, the people are beautiful but the patterned pavements are the most
13:59 beautiful part for me. In fact is what we call a discourse marker, something that helps us
14:05 to order and connect our ideas as we speak or we write. And we use in fact to give more information
14:13 or emphasise something. Portugal is popular with tourists.
14:18 In fact, Portugal was voted best European destination to visit by car.
14:23 To emphasise the popularity of Portugal, I'm using in fact to add extra information and to highlight
14:31 this important information and draw attention to it so as you're speaking.
14:36 It makes people listen when you say in fact. Here's some extra information that's interesting.
14:43 It's usually used to introduce a sentence but in some circumstances,
14:49 you'll see it at the end of a sentence as well. Portugal was voted best European destination to visit by car,
14:57 in fact. Again it's adding that emphasis, that
15:00 interesting extra piece of information that you may not have known.
15:05 So that's it for today's lesson. I hope you learned something new, something interesting.
15:11 In fact you could prove it to me by writing some of your own sentences
15:17 down in the comments below. I'll head down there now to check them out!