Phil Druker/Department of English/ University of Idaho

English/U of I/Phil Druker 

                                                       TRANSITION WORD LIST

SUBORDINATORS  (These words combine clauses to create complex sentences.) These words sometimes lead to the use of commas.

 Time:  when, while, since, before, after, until, once

Place:  where, wherever

Cause:  because, since, as, now that, inasmuch as

Condition:  if, unless, on condition that

Contrast/Concession:  although, even though, despite, in spite of

Adversative:  while, where, whereas

Other:  that, which, who, whoever, whom, what, why, how....

**Note:  These words introduce clauses, not complete sentences.  Thus, when you use these words, you need to make sure to use these words in subordinate clauses that are connected to main clauses with a comma.

Examples:

When you use subordinators, you must connect the clause containing the subordinator to a clause without a subordinator.

Although punctuation may seem trivial, not using punctuation correctly makes your sentences difficult to read.

If the subordinate clause appears at the beginning of the sentence, use a comma to connect the clauses.  Subordinate clauses are not connected with a comma when the subordinate clause is at the end of the             sentence.  So, we have these rules:

                                    [Subordinator] + Subject + Verb , Subject + Verb. (comma)

                                    Subject + Verb [Subordinator] + Subject Verb. (no comma)

You can delete some subordinators and still have a complex sentence.

The man (whom) you saw robbed a bank.  The comma (that) I added was not necessary.

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CONJUNCTS  (Use a semicolon with these words to combine complete sentences.)

Enumerative:  first, second, third . . .; 1, 2, 3, . . .; to begin with; in the first place, in the second                       place . . .;        next, then; finally,      to conclude

Reinforcing:  also, furthermore, moreover, in addition, above all

Equative: equally, likewise, similarly, in the same way

Summative:  in conclusion, to sum up

Apposition:  namely, in other words, for example (e.g.), for instance, that is (i.e.), that is to say

Inferential:  otherwise, in other words, in that case

Replacive:  alternatively, rather, on the other hand

Antithetic:  instead, on the contrary, in contrast, by comparison

Concessive:  however, nevertheless, still, yet, in any case, at any rate, after all

Result:  consequently, hence, therefore, thus, as a result

**Note: 1. These conjuncts are usually parenthetical; therefore, they are separated from the sentence by    commas. 2. You can use these words to combine sentences; however, when you do, you must use a      semicolon (;).  So, these rules apply:

            1.  [Conjunct] , Subject + Verb.  

            2.  Subject + Verb ; [conjunct], Subject + Verb.