Iain Robson ESL

Good transition words to use

Sometimes good transition words are hard to come by. Many people stumble when using transition words, and how to use them. In this post I’ll give you some good transition words you can use in an oral conversation.

I’ve created this chart for you to help you see how you can use the transition words.

Good transition words chart

Chronology or steps

To begin
first
second
third
next
after that
afterwards
then
finally
as soon as
before
after
whenever
when
until

Further information

In addition
as well
moreover
furthermore
what’s more
also
in addition to
as well as

Giving examples

For example
for instance
to illustrate
specifically
as can be observed
such as

Contrast of ideas

In contrast
however
yet
nevertheless
nonetheless
on the other hand
on the contrary
although
even though
though
while
whereas

Similar ideas

Likewise
similarly

Cause, purpose or result

As a result
consequently
that is why
therefore
thus
hence
because
since
as
so that
in order to

Emphasis

Clearly
obviously
in fact
indeed
certainly
undoubtedly
definitely

Explanation

In brief
that is
to reiterate
in other words

Conclusion

To conclude
in conclusion
to sum up
in short

Transition word video

Here is a quick video showing how to use transition words.

If you can’t see the video, click here.

Final thoughts

I hope this list of transition words helps you with your oral conversation. If you want to know what are transition words check out my other post.

Good transition words are great for oral exams. They can help show how well you can use English. Also, they help you lead your listener through your arguments or reasoning.

If you are doing the PSC language exam, transition words will help you when you’re doing the oral tests. As I mentioned, transition words help you develop your ideas in an easy-to-understand way.

You can also use transition words when you write, and that will increase the level of your writing. Just make sure to use them correctly.

What transition words do you use? Leave a comment.

How to improve your grammar

Good grammar is very difficult to achieve. I am not going to sit here and say it is easy to improve grammar because it isn’t. It takes a lot of work. In this post I am going to talk about how to improve your grammar.

In my opinion,improving your grammar comes down to a couple of things: practice and discipline.

Practice

English grammar practice is where it all begins. It is the core of developing your skills as an English as a second language learner.

These days there are tons of places where you can practice grammar online. You don’t have to resort to using traditional grammar books.

However, practice doesn’t necessarily have to mean fill in the blank exercises. It could be something as simple as taking what you’ve learned and putting it into practice.

Many people who I’ve taught, have learned the basics of English grammar, but they have not put what they’ve learned into practice. This could be something as simple as remembering to pronounce an S, conjugating a verb properly, or thinking about grammar when sending an email.

Basically, as long as you put what you’ve learned into practice, you are going to learn how to improve your grammar. It is as simple as that.

For places to practice English grammar, here are some great places to get started:

For further places to practice your English grammar online check out my resources page.

Now that we have touched on practice a bit, let’s change the pace and move on to discipline.

Discipline

The other key part to improving your English is discipline. It is about taking time to practice your English. If you don’t have the discipline to get started, you will never improve.

The greatest improvements I have seen in students are from those who have discipline to practice grammar outside their English classes. Many students I know have a lot of potential, but they lack the discipline to practice outside class.

I understand people have lives outside of grammar, and their life doesn’t revolve around grammar. However, if you really want to improve your English, you will need discipline to persevere.

Also, you need to realize that improvements are not going to happen overnight. Discipline isn’t for the short-term, discipline is for the long-term.

Because grammar improvements can take a long time, you need to have the discipline to stay focused on improving to meet your long-term goals.

Let’s recap how to improve your grammar

How to improve your English comes down to two things. The first thing practising what you have learned. The second thing, having the discipline to put them into practice.

Do you have the discipline to practice regularly?

Their vs they’re

One common mistake that I hear people make very often is they’re vs their. When you are learning English as a second language it is difficult to understand things that sound the same, but do not mean the same thing. This is one of those cases where people have a hard time understanding the difference between these two pronouns.

Let’s focus on their first.

Their (possessive pronoun)

This is a possessive pronoun, which means you would use this to show that somebody owns something.

Example:

Who owns this house? It is their house.

Because it sounds like they are, people often confuse them. However, if you break it down they become easy-to-understand.

People often omits the noun after “their”.

Example:

It is the theirs.
This means that “it is their house.”

They are a.k.a. they’re (subject pronoun)

They is a subject pronoun. This means that it would replace people, for example.

Example:

They go to the mall.
People go to the mall.

When you don’t contract “they” and “are,” it is easy to understand. When people contract “they” and “are,” the confusion starts.

Example:

They’re from Hawaii.

This is a particular subtlety that you will have to pay attention to, so you need to focus on what the person is saying. Also, by paying attention to the context used you will be able to understand whether the person means they are or their.

For examples of the different pronouns in use check out verb tense forms post.

Their vs they’re

Here are some examples to help you understand the difference:

They are from Mexico.
They’re from Mexico.
That is their car.
Their car is in the parking lot.

Their vs they’re vs there

This is another problem area.

Again their refers to a possessive pronoun,and they’re refers to they are.

Example:

They are from Norway.
It is their car.

There refers to a place.

Example:

Throw the ball over there.
Have you been there yet?

Can you think of any other examples like this? I.e. words that sound the same something different.

Good transition words chart

Transition word video

Final thoughts

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Practice

Discipline

Let’s recap how to improve your grammar

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Their (possessive pronoun)

They are a.k.a. they’re (subject pronoun)

Their vs they’re

Their vs they’re vs there

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