Discourse markers & connectors — The Art of the Productive No
Grammar: Discourse markers and connectors
Free ESL grammar exercise on discourse markers & connectors themed around the art of the productive no. Printable worksheet from classplan.ai.
What's on this worksheet
A Level 6 (proficiency) ESL grammar exercise on psychology, practising discourse markers and connectors. The worksheet has a short reading excerpt, a grammar reference and graded practice items.
From the reading
What makes refusal difficult is less the word itself than the story we attach to it. Yet in practice the two are often conflated. Not only is a well-placed no honest, but it can also protect the other party. A pause — in other words, a strategic delay — allows pressure to recede before a decision is locked in.
Grammar: Discourse Markers
- Concessive contrast
- Use yet or nevertheless in formal writing to show unexpected contrast. The yes felt kind; yet it proved costly.
- Fronted negative
- Front not only or rarely to trigger inversion and add rhetorical force. Not only did she decline, but she gave no explanation.
Sample items
- ______ the request seemed reasonable, she declined without elaborating.
- Not only ______ she refuse, but she offered no explanation at all.
- The cost of saying yes is high; ______, most people continue to agree.
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