Sentence Linkers In English

Sentence linkers are words or short phrases that are used to connect words, phrases, clauses or paragraphs together. Linkers are used to weave aspects of speech or writing together to achieve a coherent piece.

Many times, even when the speaker or writer has a clear picture or thought in his/her head, the speech or writing still comes out bad, with the sentences looking disjointed due to the inappropriate deployment of linkers. Just like a dress cannot come out nicely if not carefully weaved, notwithstanding the cost of the clothing material, a text (written or spoken) will be lacking in texture if not well woven with linkers. This piece will, as a result, discuss different categories of linkers with a view to exposing the readership to how they can achieve a coherent text, especially in writing. I will also mention the word classes that are used as linkers in different contexts.

One important class of linkers is the time relation. The time relationship in writing or speech is signalled by temporal adjectives or adverbs. The time relationship is of three kinds. The first is used to indicate a previous time, and it is achieved through adjectives such as “earlier”, “former”, “previous” and “preceding”, as in:
This frame is a good job. The previous one wasn’t good enough.
We shall discuss pronouns today. We discussed nouns in our earlier class.

Adverbs such as “already”, “as yet”, “before”, “earlier”, “first”, and “formerly” also serve as time linkers:
Dr GAB lectures at Lagos State University. Formerly, he was with Pan-Atlantic University.
There are time relations that reflect the present moment, and they are achieved with adjectives such as “contemporary”, and “simultaneous” and adverbials such as “now”, “at present”, “in the meantime” (not, “in the maintime”!), “meanwhile” and so on:
I am in Ibadan now. Meanwhile, I am supposed to have a seminar in Ogbomoso.

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Linkers of future time relations are adjectives such as “following”, “later”, and “next”, and adverbials such as “then”, “afterwards”, “after that”, etc.
I should be at the University of Lagos tomorrow. Afterwards, I’ll return to Lagos State University.

There are also linkers that denote the place relationship. This is essentially achieved by adverbs such as “here” and “there” and the relative “where”:
My siblings live in Canada. I will join them there soon.
She claims she lives in Lagos, but no one knows where exactly.

Moving on, there is a class of linkers called logical connectors. Logical connectors are used to link the propositions in sentences or paragraphs together to achieve a coherent text. The different logical connectors will be grouped under some functions. First, there is the enumerative function. Certain connectors are used to enumerate what is being said, and the commonest ones are first(ly), second(ly), etc.

Other enumerative connectors are: further(more), also, in addition, and moreover. There are some addictive linkers that perform special functions within the enumeration such as: most importantly, first and foremost, last but not least. Again, there are more linkers which are used to mark specific positions, such as “to start with/ to begin with”, “for starters” and “for a start” which are used for opening. Other linkers are also found only in the medial position, and these include “next”, “then”, etc. Following that, “finally”, “lastly”, and “to conclude/in conclusion” are used only in final positions.

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Another function of logical connectors is transition. Transitional linkers are used to show a new stage in the sequence of thoughts. Words in this category are “now”, “incidentally”, and “regarding”.
He was in Lagos to see me. Incidentally, I had left for Abuja.
We have finished the programme. Now, we can attend to other things.
While the examples given for transition are more applicable to writing, forms such as “talking of/speaking of”, “to turn to” and “that reminds me” are common in spoken discourse.

“Addition” is another function of logical connectors. It is achieved through words and phrases such as “also”, “in addition/additionally”, “moreover”, “further(more)”, “what is more”, “on top of that”, “not only that”, “more than that”, “equally”, etc.
The man is a lecturer at a university. Also, he is a politician at the grassroots level.

Take note, at this juncture, that we do not use “besides”, as a sentence linker, when merely giving additional information, as in:
The man is a lecturer at a university. Besides, he is a politician at the grassroots level (non-standard).
The man is a lecturer at a university. In addition/On top of that/Further(more), he is a politician at the grassroots level (standard).

Another function of logical connectors is summation. Phrases such as “in brief”, “in all”, and “in conclusion” are used, to sum up formal writing and longer utterances, just like “I shall conclude by saying” and “I will sum up by saying” are used in speeches.

In all, this piece is an exposition of some of the types and functions of linkers in English. A judicious use of these and many other available ones will help in achieving coherent writing and speeches.

(C) Ganiu Abisoye Bamgbose (Dr GAB) writes from the Department of English, Lagos State University.