Linking words
Lesson opening
This is the first part of the lesson. The rest, the exercises and the reviews are in the app.
Linking words: međutim, ipak, dakle, naime
You can already link the parts of one sentence: conjunctions such as i, a, ali, ili set two parts side by side, and jer, iako, ako, da make one part depend on the other. But a text is more than one sentence. When a thought steps over the full stop, other words pick it up: međutim “however”, ipak “still, all the same”, dakle “so, therefore”, naime “the thing is, you see”, osim toga “besides, apart from that”. These are linking words, the stitching of a paragraph; without them a written text falls apart into a list of unrelated statements.
Linking word versus conjunction: what links what
The difference shows best in the pair ali “but” and međutim “however”. The meaning is almost the same, the behaviour is not, exactly as with English but and however.
| Feature | Conjunction (ali, jer, iako) | Linking word (međutim, dakle, naime) |
|---|---|---|
| What it links | two parts of one complex sentence | a sentence to the text before it |
| Position | only at the boundary, before the second part | mobile: usually first, but it can move inside |
| Comma | not set off itself; the comma stands before it | usually set off by commas |
| Can it be left out? | no, the sentence falls apart | yes, but the text loses its logic |
In the third example međutim has moved inside the sentence, which the conjunction ali cannot do. Mobility is the surest sign of a linking word: you can move it without breaking the sentence. It usually opens the sentence; inside, it comes after the first word or phrase, with a comma on each side.
Contrast: međutim, ipak, naprotiv, doduše
The most crowded group: what follows argues with what was said.
| Linking word | English | When to use it |
|---|---|---|
| međutim | however | a turn against expectation, usually opening a new sentence; more written, in conversation usually ali |
| ipak | still, all the same, nevertheless | an obstacle, but the result came anyway; everywhere |
| doduše | admittedly, true | a concession, often followed by ali |
| naprotiv | on the contrary | after a negative: not that, but the very opposite |
| s jedne strane… s druge strane | on the one hand… on the other hand | weighing two arguments; s druge strane also stands alone |
| nasuprot tome | by contrast | bookish, a sharp contrast |
| uprkos tome | despite this, in spite of that | the obstacle was named just before |
| pak | for its part, on the other hand | bookish; usually after the first word |
međutim simply turns against an expectation. ipak admits the obstacle and carries the matter through anyway, so it sits easily on top of a concession: Iako je padala kiša, ipak smo izašli “Although it was raining, we went out all the same” (see “Causal, conditional & concessive”). English however is usually međutim; where you could say still, nevertheless or yet, take ipak: Bilo je teško. Ipak smo uspeli. “It was hard. We still made it.” Ali can open a new sentence too, just as English But can, with no comma after it: Hteo sam da dođem. Ali nisam mogao.
Addition and reinforcement: osim toga, štaviše, pritom
The second group adds one more argument, sometimes an equal one, sometimes a stronger one.
| Linking word | English | Example |
|---|---|---|
| osim toga | besides, apart from that | Stan je velik. Osim toga, blizu je centra. |
| pored toga | in addition, as well as that | Pored toga, grejanje je uračunato. |
| uz to | on top of that, into the bargain | Kurs je kratak, uz to i besplatan. |
| povrh toga | on top of that, over and above that | Povrh toga, tražili su i depozit. |
| štaviše | what’s more, moreover | Ne poznajem ga; štaviše, nikada ga nisam video. |
| takođe | also, too | Takođe treba poneti ličnu kartu. |
| pritom | at the same time, while doing so | Radi puno radno vreme, a pritom i studira. |
| i to | and… at that | Dobio je posao, i to odmah. |
Three shades: osim toga and pored toga add an argument of the same weight, in speech and in writing. štaviše adds one stronger than the last: “not only don’t I know him, I’ve never even seen him”. pritom and i to bring in an accompanying circumstance, often with a note of surprise.
Cheat sheet
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Linking words
A linking word joins neighbouring sentences, not two parts of one; it is mobile, set off by commas, and can be left out. Conjunction: Cena je visoka, ali kvalitet to opravdava. Linking word: Cena je visoka. Međutim, kvalitet to opravdava.
The groups
| Link | Linking words | English |
|---|---|---|
| Contrast | međutim, ipak, doduše, naprotiv, nasuprot tome, uprkos tome, s jedne strane… s druge strane, pak | however (more written; spoken ali); still; admittedly; on the contrary; by contrast; despite this; on one hand… on the other; for its part |
| Addition | osim toga, pored toga, uz to, povrh toga, štaviše, takođe, pritom, i to | besides; in addition; on top of that (×2); what’s more; also; at the same time; and… at that |
| Explaining | naime, to jest, odnosno, zapravo, u stvari, drugim rečima, na primer, recimo | the thing is; that is; or rather; actually (×2); in other words; for example; say |
| Conclusion | dakle, znači, zato, stoga, prema tome, zbog toga, usled toga, shodno tome | so; so (spoken); that’s why; hence (written); consequently; because of / as a result of this; accordingly (official) |
| Order, summary | pre svega, najpre, prvo → zatim, potom, nakon toga → najzad, naposletku, na kraju; ukratko, sve u svemu, jednom rečju | first of all → then → finally; in short, all in all, in a word |
| Comment | uostalom; inače, uzgred | after all; by the way |
zato “that’s why” gives a consequence; zato što “because”, a cause.
Clitics and commas
- Set off by a comma, it does not take the first position: Međutim, cena je porasla. Ipak, vredelo je.
- Built in without a comma, it does: Ipak je vredelo. Stoga je molba odbijena.
- Commas: međutim, naime, dakle, naprotiv, uostalom, doduše, inače, prema tome, s druge strane, ukratko; none: ipak, zato, stoga, zatim, takođe, pritom, uz to, but a comma before them between two parts: Padala je kiša, zato smo ostali kod kuće.
Spelling
- One word: međutim, ipak, naprotiv, uostalom, doduše, štaviše, zapravo, pritom, takođe, stoga, zatim, najzad, naposletku, ukratko, odnosno.
- Two or more: osim toga, pored toga, povrh toga, uz to, prema tome, zbog toga, s druge strane, u stvari, to jest, drugim rečima, na primer, sve u svemu, i to.
- tj., npr., itd., tzv.: i.e., e.g., etc., so-called.
- Frozen case: genitive osim/pored/povrh/zbog/usled toga; dative prema/nasuprot/uprkos/shodno tome; accusative uz to; locative pri tome.