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Connectors · English

And, but, because, so

A1 · 33 wordsA2 · 23 wordsB1 · 36 wordsB2 · 18 wordsC1 · 13 wordsC2 · 8 words

Updated

A1

adjectivenoun

"Big", "red", and "happy" are adjectives.

againadverb

Say it again, please.

alphabetnoun

Children learn the alphabet before they start to read.

alsoadverb

She also speaks Portuguese.

articlenoun

English uses the articles "a", "an", and "the".

capital letternoun

Every sentence begins with a capital letter.

commanoun

Put a comma after each item in a list.

downadverb

Slow down, we’re early.

examplenoun

Can you give an example of how to use this word?

exclamation pointnoun

An exclamation point shows strong emotion or emphasis.

grammarnoun

Good grammar helps you communicate more clearly.

hereadverb

Here is my ticket.

letternoun

The English alphabet has twenty-six letters.

maybeadverb

Maybe we’ll go to the lake.

meaningnoun

What is the meaning of the word "serendipity"?

nounnoun

"Dog" and "city" are nouns.

objectnoun

In "She reads books", "books" is the object.

onlyadverb

We have only five minutes.

paragraphnoun

Start a new paragraph when you introduce a new idea.

perfectadjective

The present perfect links the past to the present.

phrasenoun

A phrase is a group of words that forms a unit.

pluralnoun

Add "-s" to most nouns to form the plural.

question marknoun

A question mark comes at the end of a direct question.

reasonnoun

Give me one good reason.

sentencenoun

A sentence begins with a capital letter and ends with a full stop.

singularnoun

"Cat" is singular; "cats" is plural.

spellingnoun

Check your spelling before submitting your essay.

thereadverb

Put the boxes over there.

upadverb

Look up at the stars.

verbnoun

"Run", "eat", and "be" are verbs.

veryadverb

The museum is very popular.

vocabularynoun

Reading widely is the best way to build your vocabulary.

wordnoun

How many words do you know in English?

A2 · Premium

activeadjective

“The dog bit the man” is an active sentence.

adverbnoun

"Quickly" and "very" are adverbs.

alreadyadverb

The bus has already left.

apostrophenoun

An apostrophe is used in contractions and possessives.

auxiliary verbnoun

"Do" is an auxiliary verb used to form questions and negatives.

colonnoun

Use a colon to introduce a list or a quotation.

conjunctionnoun

Conjunctions like "and", "but", and "because" link clauses.

future tensenoun

Use "will" to form the future tense in English.

hyphennoun

A hyphen joins two words to form a compound adjective.

infinitivenoun

The infinitive is the base form of the verb, often with "to".

informaladjective

Informal language is fine in emails to friends.

irregularadjective

The verb "go" is irregular: its past form is "went".

modal verbnoun

Modal verbs like "can", "must", and "should" express ability or obligation.

past tensenoun

Use the past tense to talk about completed actions.

possessiveadjective

Add an apostrophe-s to make a noun possessive.

prepositionnoun

"In", "on", and "at" are prepositions.

present tensenoun

The present tense describes current or habitual actions.

pronounnoun

"I", "you", "he", and "they" are pronouns.

pronunciationnoun

Her pronunciation improved after living abroad for a year.

quotation marksnoun

Place quotation marks around a direct quotation.

regularadjective

Regular verbs form their past tense by adding "-ed".

tensenoun

English has twelve main tenses.

unfortunatelyadverb

Unfortunately, the tickets are sold out.

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antonymnoun

"Hot" and "cold" are antonyms.

clausenoun

A subordinate clause cannot stand alone as a sentence.

colloquialadjective

The slang terms are too colloquial for a business report.

compound wordnoun

"Sunflower" and "toothbrush" are compound words.

conditionalnoun

The second conditional is used for hypothetical situations.

consonantnoun

The word "strength" has six consonants in a row.

continuousadjective

The present continuous describes an action happening right now.

contractionnoun

In informal writing, contractions such as "can't" and "don't" are common.

countableadjective

A countable noun can be used with "a" and has a plural form.

definitionnoun

Look up the definition of the word in a dictionary.

determinernoun

Determiners such as "the", "this", and "every" come before nouns.

diphthongnoun

The vowel sound in "coin" is a diphthong.

discourse markernoun

Discourse markers like "however" and "in addition" organize text.

ellipsisnoun

An ellipsis (...) shows that words have been omitted.

gerundnoun

Swimming is the gerund form of the verb "swim".

idiomnoun

The phrase "kick the bucket" is an idiom meaning to die.

interjectionnoun

"Oh!", "Wow!" and "Oops!" are interjections.

intonationnoun

Rising intonation at the end of a sentence signals a question.

morphemenoun

A morpheme is the smallest unit of meaning in a language.

paraphraseverb

Try to paraphrase the idea in your own words.

participlenoun

The past participle of "write" is "written".

phonemenoun

English has approximately 44 phonemes but only 26 letters.

prefixnoun

The prefix "un-" means not, as in "unhappy".

relative clausenoun

A relative clause gives more information about a noun.

reported speechnoun

In reported speech, tenses usually shift back in time.

root wordnoun

The root word of "unhelpful" is "help".

semicolonnoun

A semicolon links two closely related independent clauses.

suffixnoun

The suffix "-ness" forms nouns from adjectives.

superlativeadjective

“Best” is the superlative of “good”.

syllablenoun

The word "beautiful" has three syllables.

synonymnoun

"Happy" and "joyful" are synonyms.

syntaxnoun

Syntax studies how words are combined to form sentences.

translationnoun

The translation of the poem lost some of the original rhythm.

uncountableadjective

Water is uncountable and cannot be preceded by "a".

vowelnoun

English has five vowel letters but many more vowel sounds.

word ordernoun

English has a fixed subject-verb-object word order.

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ambiguitynoun

The sentence "I saw the man with the telescope" has structural ambiguity.

code-switchingnoun

Bilingual speakers engage in code-switching, shifting between languages mid-conversation.

collocationnoun

In English, you "make" a decision but "do" homework; these are collocations.

comparativeadjective

Add "-er" to form the comparative of short adjectives.

connotationnoun

The word "slim" has a positive connotation; "skinny" a negative one.

creolenoun

Haitian Creole developed from French mixed with West African languages.

denotationnoun

The denotation of "home" is a place where one lives.

dialectnoun

The Yorkshire dialect differs significantly from standard English.

etymologynoun

The etymology of "salary" traces back to the Latin word for salt.

euphemismnoun

"Passed away" is a common euphemism for "died".

lingua francanoun

English has become the global lingua franca of business and science.

metaphornoun

Calling life a journey is a common metaphor.

morphologynoun

Morphology studies how words are formed from smaller units.

phonologynoun

Phonology focuses on the sound systems of languages.

pidginnoun

A pidgin is a simplified language that develops between speakers of different languages.

pragmaticsnoun

Pragmatics examines how context shapes the interpretation of language.

registernoun

Switching register from formal to informal can sound jarring.

semanticsnoun

Semantics studies the meaning of words and sentences.

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articulateadjective

She is articulate and persuasive.

cognatenoun

"Night" and German "Nacht" are cognates.

conciseadjective

Keep your answer concise.

inadvertentlyadverb

I inadvertently deleted the file.

lexiconnoun

The word entered the everyday lexicon.

literaladjective

That is the literal meaning.

nuancenoun

Translation often loses subtle nuance.

obscureadjective

He quoted an obscure poet.

passiveadjective

In the passive voice, the subject receives the action.

phoneticsnoun

Phonetics studies speech sounds.

rhetoricnoun

Her rhetoric swayed the audience.

subtextnoun

There is an angry subtext to her note.

verboseadjective

His writing is dense and verbose.

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coherentadjective

The essay needs a coherent structure.

delineateverb

The essay clearly delineates each argument.

eloquentadjective

He gave an eloquent speech.

figurativeadjective

The phrase is meant in a figurative sense.

indubitablyadverb

She is indubitably the best candidate.

ostensiblyadverb

He called, ostensibly to ask about work.

spuriousadjective

The claim rests on spurious reasoning.

tantamountadjective

Silence is tantamount to agreement.

Frequently asked

How many English words does the “Connectors” topic cover?

131 words, each with a translation and an example sentence: A1 — 33, A2 — 23, B1 — 36, B2 — 18, C1 — 13, C2 — 8.

Which “Connectors” words should I learn first?

With the A1 list: adjective, again, alphabet, also, article, capital letter, comma, down, example, exclamation point. The full level is on this page.

Is the whole “Connectors” topic free?

Reading the whole topic is free and needs no account. Practice is free at A1; A2, B1, B2, C1 and C2 need a Premium subscription.

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