English Grammar

Transition Words | Function, Usage, and List

What are Transition Words
Written by grammrary.com

What Are Transition Words?

Do you know the role of bridges? How important they are in transportation? You must be aware of the role of bridges in connecting routes. What about connecting ideas and concepts in language? Enhancing flow, emphasizing points, organizing clarity, and creating coherence. Here comes Transition Words.

Transition words are used to link phrases, words, and sentences.  They build linkage and relationships between content. Their use in content is vital so that the content may not look disconnected or separated. They play an important role in clearly understanding what the writer is conveying. 

Their function is to ensure smooth flow and linkage between ideas. 

The function of Transition Word:

Transition words bring clarity, coherence, and organization in the language. They provide emphasis and create engaging content.

Transition Words are used for what?

These are used to represent:

  • Time
  • Comparison
  • Details
  • Cause and Effect
  • Examples
  • Order
  • Conclusion
  • Compare
  • Emphasis
  • Clarification

List of Transition Words:

Here’s a handy list of transition words, with what they represent:

To Show Time:

  • Afterward
  • Firstly
  • Meanwhile
  • Subsequently
  • Then

Adding Information:

  • Additionally
  • Also
  • Furthermore
  • In addition
  • Moreover

Showing Order or Sequence:

  • Firstly
    Secondly
  • Next
  • then
  • Finally

Provide Examples:

  • For example
  • For instance
  • Such as
  • Namely
  • To illustrate

Conclusion:

  • In conclusion
  • In summary
  • Therefore
  • To sum up
  • Ultimately

Emphasis:

  • Above all
  • Certainly
  • Importantly
  • Indeed
  • Notably

Comparison:

  • Alternatively
  • Although
  • Apart from
  • At the same time
  • But
  • Conversely
  • Equally
  • Even so
  • However
  • In comparison
  • In spite of
  • Just as
  • Likewise
  • Nevertheless
  • On the contrary
  • On the other hand
  • Otherwise
  • Similarly
  • Unlike
  • Whereas
  • While
  • Yet

Clarification:

  • In essence
  • In other words
  • Specifically
  • That is to say
  • To clarify

Cause and Effect

  • As a consequence of
  • As a result
  • As a result of
  • As long as
  • Because
  • Comes from
  • Consequently
  • Consequently
  • Contributes of
  • Due to
  • For
  • For the purpose of
  • granted that
  • Hence
  • Hence
  • In order to
  • In view of
  • Leads to
  • Owing to
  • Results from
  • Since
  • So accordingly
  • Stems from
  • Therefore
  • Therefore
  • Thus
  • Thus

Evidence

  • Again
  • Also
  • Also
  • And
  • as well as
  • Besides
  • But a
  • By the same token
  • Certainly
  • Chiefly
  • Finally
  • Further
  • Furthermore
  • Identically
  • In addition
  • In addition to
  • Including to be
  • Moreover
  • Namely
  • Not
  • Only
  • Or
  • Sure
  • Then
  • Too
  • Truly
  • Uniquely

Place

  • Beyond to the left
  • Here
  • In the distance
  • Opposite
  • Over there
  • There
  • Under

Illustration

  • Such as
  • In this case
  • For one thing
  • For example
  • In the case of
  • Illustrated by
  • As an example
  • For instance
  • In other words
  • As revealed by
  • An instance to show that

Opinion

  • As fast
  • As for me
  • As I know
  • I believe
  • I feel
  • I think if I’m not mistaken
  • I think in my view
  • I’d say that
  • In my experience
  • In my opinion
  • It seems likely
  • It seems to me
  • What I mean is

Similarity

  • Additionally
  • As together
  • As well
  • Comparatively
  • Correspondingly
  • Furthermore
  • Likewise
  • Moreover
  • Of course
  • Similarly

Rules to use Transition Words:

  • Don’t use the same transition word again and again.
  • Make sure the transition word connects the ideas.
  • Use according to the context.
  • Position in the proper way.
Transition Words, Definition, Examples, Functions, Usage, and List

Transition Words list

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About the author

grammrary.com

The author of Grammrary.com is a Certified TEFL Trainer from Arizona State University with over 7 years of experience teaching English to students from different cultures around the world. Teaching English is both his profession and passion, and he is dedicated to helping learners improve their language skills.

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