Discourse markers Coherence is a quality of discourse not on that the depends the

discourse itself but on listener /reader ability to assign a meaningful interpretation to it (Widdowson, 1984). Sometimes, the connections between the sentences included in a piece of discourse are not made explicit by the author; in such cases it is the receiver who must infer them. Sometimes, the author makes such connections explicit by using what we call discourse markers. Discourse markers, as their name implies, they are units which are attributed to the function of making explicitly the relations that the author establishes between the different parts of his or her discourse. Those parts can vary in their extensions: they can be two sentences, two paragraphs or to chapters in a book.

Let us see another definition: Discourse markers (these are words like however, although, nevertheless) are referred to more commonly as linking words and linking phrases, or linking connectors. They may be described as the glue that binds together a piece of writing, making the different parts of the text stick together. For understanding the function that discourse markers perform in discourse, it is very important to understand that they are not syntactic units since they do not accomplish any syntactic role within the sentence; that is, they never function as subjects, verbs or objects. They do not have an identifiable grammatical function either, since a discourse marker can be a word (since), a phrase (as a result), or even a complete sentence (this is the reason why ), which implies that they cannot be classified as nouns, adjectives, verbs, adverbs or preposition. Likewise, another distinguishing characteristic of discourse markers is the positions that they can occupy in the text: the can appear at the beginning of the sentence, in the middle of it or at the end.

And now let us know them by the semantic relation that they express:

Type of relationship Adding something

Sentence connectors Moreover; In addition; Additionally; Further; Further to this; Also; Besides; What is more. However; On the other hand; In contrast; Yet. Although; Even though; Despite the fact that; In spite of the fact that; Regardless of the fact that. Because; Since; As; Insofar as.

Position within clause/sentence Initial position

Making a contrast between two separate things, people, ideas, etc. Making an unexpected contrast (concession)

Initial position

Initial position Starts a second/ subordinate clause Initial position Starts a second/ subordinate clause Initial position

Saying why something is the case

Saying what the result of something is

Therefore; Consequently; In consequence; As a result; Accordingly; Hence; Thus; For this reason; Because of this. If; In the event of; As long as...; So long as...; Provided that...; Assuming that...; Given that.... On the contrary; As a matter of fact; In fact; Indeed.

Expressing a condition

Initial position Starts a second/ subordinate clause Initial position

Making what you say stronger