What a Linker Does
A linker (also called a connective or transitional word) joins ideas and shows the relation between them: addition, contrast, reason, result, time, condition and so on.
Tammanna bought four more acres. Basavaiah also followed suit. All this looked like healthy competition. However, it grew worse.
Remove the linkers and the sentences still stand, but the thought loses its direction. The exam tests whether you can hear that direction.
The exam format. Q31(B), 4 marks (4 × 1): a short paragraph based on one of the lessons, with four blanks, and a list of exactly four linkers in square brackets. Every linker is used once. It is the alternative to Q31(A), "Rewrite as directed" (chapter 18).
[Exam Tip] — Because all four linkers are used once each, this question rewards elimination. Fill the blank you are surest of, cross that word off the list, and work on what is left.
The Families of Linkers
| Relation | Linkers | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Addition | and, also, besides, moreover, furthermore, in addition, as well as | If one bought land, the other also bought land. |
| Contrast | but, however, yet, nevertheless, on the other hand, whereas, while | It looked healthy. However, it became a rivalry. |
| Concession | although, though, even though, in spite of, despite | Although she was poor, she hired a cycle. |
| Reason | because, since, as, for, due to, owing to | She could not buy one, because it cost Rs.1,200. |
| Result | so, therefore, thus, hence, consequently, as a result | The wada had no water, so the Malapalle burnt. |
| Result with degree | so … that, such … that | It rose to such a pitch that no land was left. |
| Purpose | so that, in order to, to, lest | She trained others so that they could be mobile. |
| Time and sequence | to begin with, first, then, later, meanwhile, afterwards, finally, at last, as soon as, before, after, when, while, until | To begin with, only the activists learnt cycling. |
| Condition | if, unless, provided that, in case | Unless the elders were paid, they would not vote. |
| Example | for example, for instance, such as, namely | Many women learnt, for instance the quarry workers. |
| Comparison | like, as, similarly, in the same way | Similarly, the drivers in Brazil smiled at each other. |
| Summary | in short, in conclusion, to sum up, on the whole | In short, water is a mirror of society. |
| Linking a clause | that, whether, if | He knew that one vote could not matter. |
Pairs that are easy to confuse
| Pair | Difference |
|---|---|
| although / but | Although begins a clause and needs a main clause after it; but joins two clauses in the middle. Never use both together. |
| in spite of / although | In spite of takes a noun or -ing (in spite of the remarks); although takes a clause (although people remarked). |
| because / so | Because introduces the cause; so introduces the result. |
| so … that / such … that | So goes with an adjective or adverb (so fast that); such goes with a noun phrase (such a pitch that). |
| also / too | Also comes before the verb or after be; too comes at the end of the sentence. |
| however / but | However usually starts a new sentence and takes a comma; but does not start a sentence in formal writing. |
How to Choose the Right Linker
Three clues decide almost every blank.
1. Position and punctuation.
- A blank at the start of a sentence, followed by a comma, wants a sentence linker: However, To begin with, Therefore, In short.
- A blank in the middle, before the verb, wants also.
- A blank right after such or so wants that.
2. The direction of the thought. Compare the two ideas on either side of the blank.
| If the second idea… | use |
|---|---|
| adds more of the same | and, also, besides, moreover |
| goes against the first | but, however, yet, although |
| explains why | because, since, as |
| follows as an effect | so, therefore, thus, hence |
| comes first in a sequence | to begin with, first |
| closes the paragraph | finally, in short, to sum up |
3. Grammar fit. Although and because must be followed by a subject and a verb. In spite of and due to must be followed by a noun or an -ing form. That introduces a clause and never begins the paragraph.
Working order in the exam
- Read the whole paragraph once, ignoring the blanks.
- Mark any blank that begins a sentence, and any blank after such or so.
- Fill those first; they are nearly always fixed.
- Match the remaining two by direction of thought.
- Check that each of the four linkers has been used exactly once.
The 2025 Question, Solved
[To begin with, However, that, also]
Tammanna and Basavaiah were rivals. If Tammanna bought four more acres adjacent to his land, Basavaiah _ followed suit. If one had ten friends, the other acquired fifteen admirers. all this looked like healthy competition. , gradually it rose to such a pitch _ there was no land left in the village for them to buy.
Answers
| Blank | Answer | Why |
|---|---|---|
| 1 (before "followed suit") | also | The blank sits before the verb and the idea is addition: Basavaiah did the same thing. |
| 2 (start of a sentence) | To begin with | It opens the sequence: at first this seemed harmless. |
| 3 (start of a sentence, with a comma) | However | The thought turns: it did not stay healthy. |
| 4 (after "such a pitch") | that | Such … that is a fixed pair introducing the result. |
Reading the paragraph, the order is fixed by the grammar, not by guesswork: also cannot start a sentence, that cannot stand anywhere but after such a pitch, and of the two sentence-openers To begin with must come before However, because a sequence begins before it turns.
(The paragraph is from 'The Gardener', chapter 7, where Tammanna's and Basavaiah's healthy competition becomes destructive rivalry. The 2025 paper also asked a 4-mark question on the same idea.)
Another Paper's Linker Passage, and Common Mistakes
The model paper sets the same question on the Chipko paragraph from 'Everything I Need to Know I Learned in the Forest', with the list [and, since, but, that]:
The Chipko movement taught Vandana Shiva _ forests give us soil, water and pure air. She had known the forest her childhood, she learnt its real value only from the women. They hugged the trees _ saved them.
Answers: that · since · but · and
Common mistakes
| Mistake | Correction |
|---|---|
| Although … but … in one sentence | Use one of them, not both. |
| However placed in the middle without commas | Start a new sentence: However, … |
| In spite of he was poor | In spite of + noun or -ing: In spite of his poverty, or Although he was poor. |
| so … that with a noun (so a pitch that) | Use such a pitch that. |
| Using one linker twice and leaving another unused | Each of the four is used exactly once; tick them off. |
| Adding a linker of your own that is not in the list | Only the words given may be used. |
| Writing the linker without the comma it needs | To begin with, … / However, … / Therefore, … |
[Exam Tip] — If you must guess one blank, guess the one in the middle of a sentence and keep the sentence-openers for the linkers that can only open a sentence. That protects three marks instead of risking four.