CONNECTORS AND EXPRESSIONS

HOWEVER =SINEMBARGO

• I love basketball; however I don’t practice it because I don’t have time.

IN SPITE OF/ DESPITE =A PESAR DE QUE / A PESAR DE / PESE A…

• Many people smoke in spite of the terrible damage that it causes to the
organism.
• In spite of the great effort, the players lost the game.

BY MEANS OF=POR MEDIO DE

• Deaf people communicate by means of sign language.

• The brain works by means of electrical charges traveling throughout neurons.

THEN= LUEGO

• Yesterday, I went to a restaurant with my family. We ate a delicious dinner and then
we went to see a movie.

AFTER THIS/THAT= DESPUÉS DE ESTO/ DESPUES DE ESO

• The students went to the auditorium to listen to a conference; after this, they
worked in groups and they wrote a summary about the conference.

• My friends went to the gym to do aerobics, after that, they went to swim.

LATER= MÁS TARDE / LUEGO

• I had lunch at 12:30 p.m. and I relaxed a little. Later, I went to visit a friend.

BESIDES / MOREOVER= ADEMÁS

• Julián is a very good student. He studies civil engineering at the ITM, besides; he
studies languages at Universidad de Antioquia.

• I am not going to the concert because I don’t have money, moreover, that day; my
parents are coming to visit me.
 NOTE: La diferencia en cuanto al uso de BECAUSE y BECAUSE OF / DUE TO
está en que cuando usamos BECAUSE sólo, éste debe ir seguido de una
ORACIÓN COMPLETA (Sujeto + Verbo + Complemento), mientras que BECAUSE
OF o DUE TO deben ir seguidos por un SUSTANTIVO. Así:

BECAUSE = PORQUE…

• I did not go to class BECAUSE I was very sick.

Como pueden notar, después del BECAUSE hay una oración completa:
Sujeto= I Verbo= was Complemento= very sick.

• Our planet is very contaminated because we do not take care of it.

• Karen does not eat meat because she is vegetarian.

Lo mismo ocurre si utilizamos SINCE = Ya que…

SINCE = Ya que…

• I have good communication with people from other countries since we meet on the
chat every day.
• Fruits and vegetables are very nutritious since they contain a lot of vitamins.

En el caso de BECAUSE OF and DUE TO, estos van seguidos de un

SUSTANTIVO. Así:

BECAUSE OF = DEBIDO A… / A CAUSA DE…

• There are a lot of problems in Colombia because of the rain.

• Because of the unemployment, many people travel to other countries or
• Many people travel to other countries because of the unemployment since they
need to get money to support their families.

DUE TO= DEBIDO A…/ A CAUSA DE…

• Due to the contamination of the water, many people get sick.

• Many people get sick due to the contamination of the water.

IN FACT= DE HECHO / EN REALIDAD

• Alexander loves doing exercise; in fact, he goes to the gym three hours every day.
• My father is a great fan of Michael Jackson; in fact, he has all his videos and
albums.
AS A CONSEQUENCE= COMO CONSECUENCIA/ EN CONSECUENCIA

• Robert used to smoke a lot when he was young; as a consequence, he got lungs
cancer.
• I did not prepare my project very well; as a consequence, I failed this grade.

AS A RESULT= COMO RESULTADO / EN CONSECUENCIA

• Many parents do not share much time with their children; as a result, these children
experience lack of attention and affection. (lack of: falta de)
• There was a strong storm in Medellín yesterday; as a result, there are many
houses destroyed.

IN THIS WAY= DE ESTA FORMA / DE ESTA MANERA / ASÍ

• At the ITM, students study English and they have access to English conversation
clubs; in this way, they make emphasis in speaking.

FOR THIS REASON= POR ESTA RAZÓN = THAT’S WHY= ES POR ESO
QUE…

• Next week, the ITM is having anniversary festivities; for this reason, students will
not have classes on Thursday, Friday and Saturday.
• Next week, the ITM is having anniversary festivities; that’s why, students will not
have classes on Thursday, Friday and Saturday.
• I am planning to travel to France next year; that is why I am studying French.
• I am planning to travel to France next year; for that reason, I am studying French.

IN THE SAME WAY= DE LA MISMA FORMA / MANERA / IGUALMENTE

• Students at the ITM take computer courses, in the same way; they take English
courses, because they need to be prepared for this technological era.

THE SAME= LO (A) MISMO (A)/ LOS (AS) MISMO (AS)

• This semester I have the same teachers in Spanish and English. (los mismos)
• I don’t understand physics and I have the same problem with mathematics. (el
mismo)
 • You told me the same words that you told to that girl. (las mismas)
• You are wearing the same jacket that you had yesterday. (la misma)

ON THE CONTRARY= POR EL CONTRARIO

• I don’t consider that airplanes are dangerous means of transportation; on the

contrary, I think that they are safe and fast.
• Cosmetic surgeries are not good; on the contrary, they affect people, physically
and psychologically.

NOT ONLY…BUT ALSO= NO SÓLO…SINO TAMBIÉN

• To drink wine is not only delicious but also it is good for your heart.
• Smoking affects people not only physically, but also mentally.

BUT= PERO / SINO

• I want to travel to the United States but I do not speak English.

• The students want to pass English but they do not participate in the conversation
clubs.

ON ONE HAND…ON THE OTHER HAND= DE UN LADO…DE OTRO LADO

• Smoking affects people in all the aspects. On one hand, it affects their lungs; on
the other hand, it makes people smell bad.
• Practicing sports gives you many benefits. On one hand, you can have a good
physical condition; on the other hand, it permits you to have a good figure.

THEREFORE= POR CONSIGUIENTE

• Last week there were a lot of disturbances at the ITM; therefore, we did not have
classes on Thursday and Friday.

WHICH= EL/LA CUAL / LOS (AS) CUALES

• The students are Reading a book which is about an important pianist. (el cual)
• English and systems are subjects which are the complement for any career. (las
cuales)
• Soccer and cycling are important sports which represent Colombia in other
countries.
(los cuales)
 • Telecommunications is a good career which gives us many possibilities of
employment. (la cual).

ALTHOUGH= AUNQUE

• Many people sing English songs although they do not speak English.
• I love soccer although I don’t play it because I cannot.

THAT= QUE…

• The woman that entered the house was Lucille.

• The instrument that Anthony played was the piano.
• The boys that helped Tony were his best friends.
• Nicky and Heloise are the boys that Lucille loves.

INSTEAD OF = EN LUGAR DE / EN VEZ DE

• I prefer to drink a natural juice instead of drinking a soda.

• Some children prefer to eat fruits instead of eating vegetables.

FINALLY = FINALMENTE

• Mary talked to her teacher and finally, she recognized that she didn’t study for the
test.
• After ten hours in the bus, George finally arrived home.

UNLESS= A MENOS QUE / A NO SER QUE…

• Students cannot enter to the ITM unless they show their Identification card.
• The students should speak English unless they don’ want to continue their
professional education.
 CONNECTORS

1. A) BECAUSE: (se usa para responder cuando se pregunta con WHY?)

Example: Why do you study telecommunications?

I study telecommunications because I like to work with the technological advances and
with computer nets.

1. B) BECAUSE : También se usa como conector (connector) para unir/conectar dos o más
ideas. Tal como ya se ha estudiado; después de este conector, se debe retomar el orden de
la oración. Es decir, tal como está expresada la primera oración: SUJETO + verbo +
COMPLEMENTO, de igual manera, después del connector, la segunda oración/idea debe
seguir este mismo orden gramatical para que sea coherente, para que se pueda entender.

EXAMPLE: Primera oración/idea: Many people go to the gym to practice exercise.

Segunda oración/idea: Many people want to be healthy.

Cuando se une la oración con el connector, el resultado es el siguiente:

Many people go to the gym to practice exercise because they want to be healthy.

Subject

Verb Complement Subject Verb Complement

Katherine didn’t come to class last Friday because she was very sick.

Subject Verb Complement Subject Verb Complement

2. SINCE: Este conector tiene un significado similar al de because. Se puede tomar como YA QUE… o
PORQUE….
Y se sigue el mismo procedimiento anterior, o sea, que después de este conector debe haber S.V.C.
EXAMPLE: My sister doesn’t eat meat and chicken since she is vegetarian.

Subject Verb Complement Subject Verb Complement

The President of Colombia visited Medellín since he wants to help the people from the Comuna
13.

Subject Verb Complement Subject Verb Complement

3. SO / THEN: Estos dos conectores quieren decir: ASÍ QUE … ENTONCES…

 EXAMPLE: I was very sick so I went to the hospital.

Margaret is traveling to the United States next year So she began to study
English.

Subject Verb Complement Subject Verb Compl

NOTE: COMO HEMOS VISTO EN LOS EJEMPLOS DADOS, TODA ORACIÓN

DEBE TENER SIEMPRE SUS TRES PARTES BÁSICAS: SUJETO, VERBO y
COMPLEMENTO.

4. BESIDES / MOREOVER: Además

EXAMPLE:

Susana is a very intelligent person. She plays the piano and the guitar besides, she speaks
English and French.

I am very sick and I cannot go to the party. Moreover I don’t have money.

5. A. THEN: Luego /Después.

B. AFTER THIS: Después de esto / Luego de esto
C. LATER: Más Tarde…

On Mondays, I usually get up at 5:30. I brush my teeth and take a shower at 5:45. Then, I
get dressed and take my breakfast. After This, I take the bus to the university. Later, I go to
the library, I study a little and at 12:00 I take my lunch.

6. BUT: PERO…
• I like to dance but I don’t like to drink.
• Janet wants to buy a new car but she doesn’t have sufficient money.

7. BECAUSE OF / DUE TO: Debido a / a causa de

• There are many problems in Colombia because of the violence.

• Some students don’t learn English due to the lack of study.
• There are many houses destroyed in Barranquilla because of the strong rains.
• Many children die every day due to malnutrition problems.

RECUERDEN QUE PARA EXPRESAR OPINIÓN SE PUEDEN USAR LAS

SIGUIENTES EXPRESIONES:
 1. I think that ………..(yo pienso que… / yo creo que…)
2. I Consider that …..(yo considero que…)
3. In my opinión……..( En mi opinión…..)

Recuerden también que después de cualquiera de estas expresiones, se debe

seguir el orden de la oración; es decir: SUBJECT + VERB + COMPLEMENT.
EXAMPLE:

1. I think that the Internet is a very important tool because it helps people to do
S V Complement connector S V Complem
different activities. For example, people can send and receive e-mails, do
complement Expression S V c o m p l e m e n t

homework, buy or sell products, download music and videos etc.

c o m p l e m e n t

2. I consider that exotic animals need to be in their natural habitats because they
S V complement connector S
cannot live in a house or in an apartment.
V complement

3. In my opinion, dreams have relation with the experiences that people have every
S V c o m p l e m e n t
day since dreams are the expression of the humans’ emotions.
S V c o m p l e m e n t

1. Los Verbos, tanto en Presente Como en Pasado.

Recuerden que los verbos Regulares son aquellos que no cambian mucho su forma de
un tiempo verbal a otro. Estos verbos regulares son los que forman el Tiempo Pasado
Simple y el Participio Pasado TAN SÓLO agregando ED.
Example: REGULAR VERBS

SIMPLE PRESENT SIMPLE PAST PAST PARTICIPLE

Play Played Played
Study Studied Studied
Work Worked Worked
Live Lived Lived
Jump Jumped Jumped

IRREGULAR VERBS: Se llaman irregulares porque cambian dramáticamente su forma

de un tiempo verbal a otro.

SIMPLE PRESENT SIMPLE PAST PAST PARTICIPLE

Read Read (se lee –red-) Read (se lee –red-)
Fly Flew Flown
Eat Ate Eaten
 Drink Drank Drunk
Write Wrote Written

2. Adjetivos: Los adjetivos son aquellos que indican características o cualidades de una persona,
de una cosa, de una situación o de un animal. Dicen cómo es algo. Los Adjetivos
(adjectives)en Inglés NUNCA SE PLURALIZAN, no tienen forma plural y siempre deben ir antes
del sustantivo (noun).

Example:

*The beautiful flowers Some good students The fantastic concert

adjective noun adjective noun adjective noun

Big (grande-s-) Interesting (interesante –s-)

Small (pequeño –a- -s-) Important (importante)

Tall (alto –a- -s-) Modern (moderno –a- -s-)

Short (bajito –a- -s-) Dangerous (peligroso–a- -s-)

Old (viejo–a- -s-) Bad (malo–a- -s-)

New (nuevo–a- -s-) Terrible (terrible –s-)

Fat (gordo–a- -s-) Great (grandioso–a- -s-)

Thin (delgado–a- -s-) Different (diferente –s-)

Ugly (feo–a- -s-) Expensive (caro /costoso–a- -s-)

Beautiful (bonito–a- -s- / hermoso–a- -s-) Cheap (barato–a- -s-)

Nice (Buena gente / bonito/ agradable) Difficult (difícil –es-)

Boring (aburridor–a- -s-) Easy (fácil –es -)

Taken from: http://mbonillo.xavierre.com/gramatica/markers.html

Information compiled by Professor Luz Carime Carmona, 2020.