English Linking Words: Casual and Professional Equivalents

Introduction

• Speaker: Emma from mmmEnglish
• Purpose: Teach 7 common English linking words and their professional equivalents
• Importance: Linking words connect ideas in speech and writing; necessary for clear and effective communication.
• Audience: People looking to improve formal and informal English skills, especially members of "Hey Lady!" community.

Casual vs. Formal Language

• Spoken English: Generally more casual
• Written English: More formal
• Appropriate Usage:
  • Formal language in casual contexts may sound stiff
  • Informal language in professional contexts may sound less convincing

Casual Emma's Story

• Trip to Portugal:
  • Linking words used: and, or, but, so, because, like, especially
  • Example sentences:
    • "I just got back from my trip and I'm exhausted."
    • "I really enjoyed the food on this trip, sweets like pasteis de nata."

Professional Emma's Presentation

• Tourism in Portugal:
  • Linking words used: as well as, whereas, either or, as a result, since, such as, in fact
  • Example sentences:
    • "Portugal experiences mild winters as well as hot summers."
    • "International tourism has not yet recovered to pre-pandemic levels whereas domestic tourism is booming."

Explanation of Linking Words

Adding Information

• Casual: and
• Formal: as well as
  • Example: "Portugal is popular in summer and winter" becomes "in summer as well as winter."

Showing Contrast

• Casual: but
• Formal: whereas
  • Example: "Tourism has not recovered but domestic tourism is booming" becomes "whereas domestic tourism is booming."

Showing Alternatives

• Casual: or
• Formal: either or
  • Example: "Enjoy a coastal holiday or a trip to the mountains" becomes "either a coastal holiday or a trip to the mountains."

Reason and Result

• Casual: so
• Formal: as a result
  • Example: "The weather is nice all year so it's popular" becomes "The weather is nice all year and as a result, it's popular."

Emphasizing Reason

• Casual: because
• Formal: since
  • Example: "I want to go back to Portugal because there's so much to see" becomes "since there's still so much to see."

Examples

• Casual: like
• Formal: such as
  • Example: "I enjoyed the food, sweets like pasteis de nata" becomes "sweets such as pasteis de nata."

Emphasizing a Point

• Adverb: especially
• Discourse Marker: in fact
  • Example: "Everything is beautiful, especially the pavements" and "Portugal is popular. In fact, it was voted best destination."

Conclusion

• Encouragement to write sentences using the linking words
• Emma engages with audience comments to reinforce learning.