Transition Words & Phrases in English: Different Types, Useful Lists and Examples

When learning a language it can be easy to use one sentence after another without linking relevant information together but transition words help you to avoid this. In fluent language, this makes speech more coherent and allows the listener to more easily understand the link between two points or ideas.

These words are some of the most commonly used within the English language and in order to improve your ability to communicate in the language, it important to learn them. In this article, we are going to be looking at what a transition word it, how they are used and why it is important to have a good knowledge of them as you progress through your language learning journey. We will also be exploring some examples of transition words being used within a sentence,

What Are Transition Words?

The most simple way of explaining what transition words are is to say that they are words that join one idea to another in a sentence. This avoids having many overly concise sentences which can cause speech to sound disjointed and unnatural. Consider the following example:

My brother is going to France. My brother is going to Spain. My brother is going to Russia. My brother loves to travel.

These sentences can be easily understood by any English speaker but they do not flow and all four of the sentences could be made into one sentence through the use of transition words. Let’s explore how this might look:

My brother is going to France and to Spain then to Russia because he loves to travel.

It isn’t difficult to see how much better this sentence flows and the listener can connect each idea much more freely.

Another job of the transition word is to let your listener or reader know what is going to happen next. These words do not always need to be used on their own, there are also opportunities to create a transition phrase to further inform the listener or reader how the two ideas are connected. Through the use of transition words and phrases, you can lead your audience from one idea to the next. Think about these sentences.

The girl stole from her employed. She lost her job.

Now when we add a transition phrase, the two ideas become linked and much more easy to follow.

The girl stole from her employer and as a result lost her job.

A transition word or phrase can link two sentences but they may also link together two paragraphs or simply two clauses. In essence, they are considered to be the glue that will hold your speech together, in other words – they are super important.

Why Should You Learn Transition Words?

Whilst it is perfectly doable to speak English without transition words, this will make your speech and writing sound much less natural and quite often, disjointed and unpleasant to hear.

In order to effectively convey your thoughts and ideas, transition words are essential and they will certainly give your English a more native feel. Using transition words and phrases will allow you to show your audience that two sentences are related to one another in some way.

Types Of Transition Words

It may come as little surprise that there are is more than one type of transition word and learning their types can go a long way in helping you to select the right word or phrase to use in your speaking or writing. Let’s take a look at the most commonly used types of transition words along with some examples of how they might look when used in a sentence.

Conclusion Transition Words

After all
All in all
All things considered
Altogether
By and large
Definitely
Finally
For the most part
In a word
In any event
In brief
Briefly
In conclusion
In either case
In essence
In short
In summary
In the end
In the final analysis
In the long run
On balance
On the whole
Ordinarily
Overall
Thus
To conclude
To sum up
To summarize
Ultimately

You might see these words used in the following sentences:

The threatening strike did not take place after all.
Sometimes she is grouchy, but all in all, she is an excellent teacher.
I think the party was great, all things considered – I mean we didn’t have much time to prepare and no help, but it still went well.
Altogether, our achievements are very great.
By and large, these people are peace-loving, law-abiding citizens.
Definitely, she has got something to hold over old rival Adam.
Finally, he returned to the official line from which he had swerved.
For the most part, he left the books to his managers and accountants.
In a word, I can’t go out as I have many things to do.
In any event, the bowling alley restaurant proved quite acceptable.
We should, in brief, invest heavily in digital systems.
Briefly, she ran through details of the morning’s events.
In conclusion, walking is a cheap, safe, enjoyable and readily available form of exercise.
In either case, the term lacks the generative force to stimulate investigation and to produce verifiable hypotheses.
In essence, you are rewarding the behaviour, so he is even more likely to repeat it.
In short, the style concerns not what a writer says but how he says.
In summary, there are well established, simple procedures for giving judgments credibility.
In the end, they had to amputate his foot to free him from the wrecked car.
In the final analysis, humour is a matter of individual interpretation.
In the long run, it does not work; if it did, the parents would not be asking for advice.
On balance, the book is a friendly, down-to-earth introduction to physics.
On the whole, I thought the film was pretty good.
Ordinarily, we send a reminder about a month before payment is required.
Overall, the tone of the book is satirical/the book is satirical in tone.
We do not own the building. Thus, it would be impossible for us to make any major changes to it.
To conclude, Safrotin made in China is high efficiency and low toxicity acaricide.
To sum up, damp walls are not disastrous structurally, but the cause must be ascertained and the condition rectified.
To summarize, the organic compounds found in cells are built up and broken down by enzymes.
Ultimately, you’ll have to make the decision yourself.