Questions tagged [discourse-markers]
A discourse marker is a word or phrase used to connect or relate ideas together. Examples of discourse markers: "oh," "you know," "well," "but," "on the other hand."
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Sentences beginning with "so"?
This also came up on either a BBC or CBC science program, but not as a linguistically-oriented discussion.
Over the last two or three years I've noticed a lot more people starting a sentence with "so"...
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"Firstly" or "first"?
Which is more correct?
How do I love thee? Let me count the ways. First, thy eyes gaze deep into my soul. Second,...
or
There are four reasons why all should hail the Hypno-Toad. Firstly, his ...
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When should you use "despite" over "inspite", and vice versa?
Most dictionaries suggest that inspite and despite are synonymous, but are there any specific instances when their usage is not interchangeable?
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Difference between nevertheless and nonetheless
I am never quite sure whether to use nevertheless or nonetheless; they seem almost synonymous to me, but I think I might be missing a subtle distinction. Is there a difference, and if so, how do I ...
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Placing however at the start of a sentence vs placing it in the middle of a sentence?
Basically, what's the difference between this:
However, it didn't mean that I didn't have the potential to become a
rock star.
and this?
It didn't mean, however, that I didn't have the ...
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rule of thumb for 'however' in the middle of the sentence?
What is the rule of thumb for using 'however' in the middle of the sentence? For example:
Some people disagree with this theory, however, as it's never been proven right.
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Replacement for the annoying habit of saying "I was like"
I am new here, so my first question would be to ask about an annoying habit that I, as well as many other people out there, seem to have...
During the telling of a story I will often say this one ...
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"Despite" vs "In spite of" [duplicate]
Are despite and in spite of interchangeable? I prefer despite but the alternative sometimes scans better.
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First, Second, Third, and Finally
Is it grammatically correct to sequence paragraphs using First, Second, Third, and Finally?
If not, is there a good word that replaces Finally? Starting a paragraph with Final doesn't sound correct. ...
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Academic way of saying "On the other hand"
I have two paragraphs in my paper, the previous paragraph ends with
This shows that TF-IDF is still an important feature for text analysis
task
and my next paragraph starts with
On the ...
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Should "So", "Therefore", "Hence", and "Thus" be followed by commas?
Often, I have come across sentences that begin with "So". Should such an usage of "So" be followed by a comma?
Are the following examples correct.
He is very good at computers. So, I think he can ...
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Is it acceptable to start a sentence with “however”?
I have heard that starting a sentence with however is wrong. What are the grounds for this view and is it still held by a majority of pedants?
They would suggest changing
However, some people are ...
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Fine semantic differences between "thus" and "therefore"
I have seen a few Q&A's with this title but none really reflects my question. I am aware both are adverbs and so forth and how they syntactically can be used equivalently, but what about ...
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Usage of "nonetheless" and "nevertheless"
Person A: "Is it just because you think I am sad, that you want to talk with me?"
Person B: "No, I want to talk with you _______."
In the blank, which word is correct: "nonetheless" or "nevertheless"...
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Is the use of "conversely" to mean "on the other hand" correct?
I've previously used "conversely" to mean "on the other hand". For example.
I always thought this the correct usage. Conversely, I might be wrong.
However, the OED defines it as:
In the ...
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Alternatives to the "on the one hand... on the other hand" construct
Can anyone suggest any alternatives to the "on the one hand... on the other hand" construct?
Example: (On the one hand/alternative) I like product A. (On the other hand/alternative) product B also ...
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Is "on one hand, on the other hand" a cliche? [closed]
We should find a Way of long peace instead of living just for today. On one hand, we have to prevent the community from coming apart and suffering the disasters caused by it, on the other hand, to ...
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Overuse of "however" in my scientific writing? [closed]
In scientific writing, I always feel the need to logically connect all my sentences to have a clear logical path between beginning and end of a paragraph, else it is just feels like a list of random ...
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“Firstly, secondly” vs. “Firstly, lastly” when listing just two points
Normally, if we which to illustrate our points, we can use firstly, secondly, lastly (or last but not least or finally).
There are a few pieces of information we need to notice:
Firstly,
...
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despite / in spite of? [closed]
I could not sleep ____ very tired .
Here, I tried:
I could not sleep despite I was very tired .
I could not sleep in spite of very tired
Which one is correct?
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