Learning English

Rob
Hello and welcome to 6 Minute Vocabulary. I’m Rob…

Catherine
And I’m Catherine. And this programme is all about linking words, the words and phrases we use to connect ideas and events when we speak or write.

Rob
Yes, we call them linking words and phrases. They help people to follow what we’re saying by showing how ideas are connected to each other.

Catherine
First, we’ll look at some examples…

Rob
Next, there will be a short quiz…

Catherine
And finally, we’ll leave you with a top tip for learning vocabulary. 

Rob
But to start with, let’s listen to Angela talking about a lucky escape she had. While you listen, try to answer this question: who or what saved Angela in the end?

Catherine
Here’s Angela.

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Presenter
So Angela, tell us: what did you escape from? 

Angela
A shark.

Presenter
Wow! Really…?

Angela
Yes, what happened was I was swimming off the coast, when all of a sudden, I saw a huge black shape coming towards me. To begin with, I thought it was a dolphin…

Presenter
But it wasn’t. So, what happened next?

Angela
Well, I then quickly realised it was a shark. Luckily, I’m a very fast swimmer. But in the end, it was a boat that saved me.

Rob
That’s an incredible story! We asked: who or what saved Angela?

Catherine
It was a boat. Angela said “In the end, a boat saved me.”

Rob
Lucky lady. Now Angela helped us to follow her story by using linking words and phrases to tell us what happened, when it happened and how she felt about it. Let’s have a look at some of them.

Catherine
OK, right, now the first one was right at the beginning. Angela said "What happened was…"and this is a really good way tointroduce a story because it grabs the listener’s attention and it tells them to get ready to hear a story. Have a listen.

Angela
What happened was I was swimming off the coast, when all of a sudden, I saw a huge black shape coming towards me.

Rob
OK, good start. Now another way to tell your story clearly is to say words that show the order of events. Catherine and I did this at the beginning of this programme when we used words like First, Next and Finally: First, we’ll look at examples …,

Catherine
Next, there will be a short quiz… 

Rob
And finally, we’ll leave you with a top tip…

Catherine
Exactly. Now let’s listen to how Angela used words and phrases like these.

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Angela
What happened was I was swimming off the coast, when all of a sudden, I saw a huge black shape coming towards me. To begin with, I thought it was a dolphin…

Presenter
But it wasn’t. So, what happened next?

Angela
Well, I then quickly realised it was a shark. Luckily, I’m a very fast swimmer. But in the end, it was a boat that saved me.

Catherine
So, when you get to the end of your story use a phrase like in the end or finally to show that your story’s about to finish.

INSERT

Angela
But in the end it was a boat that saved me.

Rob
OK. Now, let’s hear Angela tell us about how the boat saved her.

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Angela
Fortunately, the boat had already seen the shark and fired a rocket, which scared the creature off.

Presenter
That was lucky!

Rob
Wow, so Angela uses the adverb fortunately as a linking word to comment on this.

Catherine           
Yes and in the first clip Angela said: "Luckily, I’m a fast swimmer." Other comment adverbs you may hear include unfortunately, sadly and so on.  And we can also use adverbs and adverbial phrases like suddenly or all of a sudden, which we heard in the first clip to say how things happen.

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Rob
We’re talking about words and phrases that link different sentences and parts of a story.

Catherine
Yep and it’s time for a quick recap. So, to start a story we had…

Rob
Well, what happened was…

Catherine
For ordering events:

Rob
First of all, to begin with, then, next, after that…

Catherine
To finish a story…

Rob
Finally, in the end.

Catherine
To make a comment:

Rob
Luckily, unfortunately, sadly.

Catherine
And lastly we had:

Rob
Suddenly, all of a sudden.

Catherine           
Great, now it’s quiz time. Choose the correct linking word or phrase to fill the gaps. Number one: I tried for weeks to get a ticket to the final. [sfx: beep] I gave up. Is it a) In the end or b) Next.

Rob     
It’s a) In the end.

Catherine       
Well done. Number two. It started to rain. [sfx: beep] I had an umbrella with me. Is it a) Suddenly or b) Luckily.

Rob           
It’s b) Luckily.

Catherine           
Finally, number 3: Which is the correct phrase to introduce your story? Is it a) What happened was … or b) What happened it … ?

Rob           
And it’s a) What happened was…

Catherine
It is, and well done to you if you got those right. Now before we finish here’s Rob with a quick tip for learning vocabulary.

Rob           
Yes, why not make a note of new linking devices when hear other people speak English – on the bus, waiting in a queue or watching TV. Note them on your phone or just write them down somewhere and then try to use them yourself.

Catherine           
Top tip Rob, thank you. There’s more about this at BBC learning English dot com. Join us again for more 6 Minute Vocabulary.

Both                       
Good bye!

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