Discourse Markers: adverbs and adverbial expressions

To change the direction of a conversation but make a link to what was previously said.

• speaking of

• anyway

• at least

To explain or clarify a point you have just made.

• as far as

• otherwise

• that is to say

To make things clearer or give more details.

• in other words

• I mean

• otherwise

To introduce the most important or fundamental point.

• basically

• obviously

• besides

To introduce a new topic or announce a change of subject.

• regarding

• in other words

• after all

To say that you're taking everything into consideration.

• On the whole

• all in all

• after all

To say what the result would be if something didn't happen or if the situation were different.

• otherwise

• all in all

• as far as

To add extra information or arguments.

• as I was saying

• besides

• at least

To return to the main topic after a digression.

• by the way

• at least

• in any case

To introduce additional surprising or unexpected information.

• after all

• as a matter of fact

• incidentally