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Hello and welcome to 6 Minute Vocabulary.
I'm Rob. And I'm Catherine.
And this programme is all about linking words.
That's the words and phrases we use to connect ideas and events when we speak alright.
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.
First, we'll look at some examples.
Next, there will be a short quiz.
And finally, we'll leave you with a top tip for learning vocabulary.
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?
Mm -hmm. Here's Angela.
So, Angela, tell us.
What did you escape from?
A shark. Wow. Really?
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.
But it wasn't. So, what happened next?
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.
Oh, that's an incredible story.
We asked, who or what saved Angela?
And it was a boat. Angela said, in the end, a boat saved me.
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.
OK. Right, now, the first one was right at the beginning.
Angela said, what happened was… And this is a really good way to introduce a story because it grabs a listener's attention and it tells them to get ready to hear a story.
Have a listen. What happened was, I was swimming off the coast.
When all of a sudden, I saw a huge black shape coming towards me.
OK. Good start. Now, another way to tell your story clearly is to use words that show the order of events.
Catherine and I did this at the beginning of this programme when we said words like, first, next and finally, when we said, first, we'll look at examples… Next, there'll be a short quiz… And finally, we'll leave you with a top tip.
Exactly. Now, let's listen to how Angela used words and phrases like these.
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.
But it wasn't. So, what happened next?
Well, I then quickly realised it was a shark.
Luckily, I'm a very far swimmer.
But in the end, it was a boat that saved me.
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.
But in the end, it was a boat that saved me.
OK. Now let's hear Angela tell us about how the boat saved her.
Fortunately, the boat had already seen the shark and fired a rocket, which scared the creature off.
That was lucky. Wow!
So, Angela uses the adverb fortunately as a linking word to comment on this.
Yes, and in the first clip, Angela said, Luckily, I'm a fast swimmer.
And 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.
We're talking about words and phrases that link different sentences and parts of a story.
Yes, and it's time for a quick recap.
So, to start a story we had...
Well, what happened was...
...for ordering events.
First of all, to begin with, then, next, after that...
...to finish a story...
...finally, in the end...
...to make a comment...
...luckily, unfortunately, sadly...
...and lastly, we had...
...suddenly, all of a sudden...
Great. Now it's quiz time.
Choose a correct linking word or phrase to fill the gaps.
Ready? Number one. I tried for weeks to get a ticket to the final...
...I gave up. Is it A in the end or B next?
It's A in the end. Well done.
Now number two. It started to rain.
I had an umbrella with me.
Is it A, suddenly, or B, luckily?
It's B, luckily. Yup.
And finally, number three.
Which is the correct phrase to introduce your story?
Is it A, what happened was, or B, what happened it?
And it's A, what happened was...
It is indeed and well done to you if you got those right.
Now before we finish, here's Rob with a quick tip for learning vocabulary.
Yes. Why not make a note of new linking devices when you 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.
Top tip, Rob, thank you.
And there's more about this at bbclearningenglish .com.
Join us again for more 6 Minute Vocabulary.
Bye.
