Linking Words & Discourse Markers – English Grammar Exercises for B2
A family conversation where the speaker confesses to turning down a highly lucrative job offer, explaining their true feelings and reasons.
Choose the best option (A, B, C, or D) to complete each sentence in the confession.
1 “Mom, Dad, before you start celebrating… ______, I couldn’t bring myself to sign the contract.”
(A) To be honest
(B) To be honestly
(C) Honest to say
(D) Nevertheless
2 “I know everyone expected me to take the executive role. ______, I have officially declined their offer.”
(A) As matter of fact
(B) As a matter of fact
(C) In the matter of fact
(D) Consequently
3 “______, the prestige of the company simply does not make up for their terrible treatment of employees.”
(A) To be frankly
(B) Frank
(C) Frankly
(D) By the way
4 “You all think this is the perfect career move for me, but ______, I felt completely out of place during the interviews.”
(A) telling the truth
(B) to say you the truth
(C) to tell you the truth
(D) speaking of which
5 “I was offered a six-figure salary and a corner office. ______, money isn’t everything to me anymore.”
(A) In all honest
(B) With all honesty
(C) In addition
(D) In all honesty
6 “______, I would rather be unemployed for another month than work 80 hours a week and ruin my health.”
(A) To put it bluntly
(B) To put bluntly
(C) Putting it blunt
(D) As a result
7 “I smiled when I opened the offer letter in front of you, but ______, I was panicking inside.”
(A) in real
(B) in reality
(C) into reality
(D) basically
8 “______, turning down that much money was one of the hardest things I have ever done.”
(A) Admit
(B) Admittingly
(C) Admittedly
(D) In contrast
9 “I know you think I made a hasty and emotional decision. ______, I have been thinking about this for weeks.”
(A) Actual
(B) Currently
(C) Meanwhile
(D) Actually
10 “The HR manager promised a great work-life balance; ______, current employees secretly told me they work every weekend.”
(A) as it turns out
(B) as it turns
(C) how it turns out
(D) on the whole
11 “______, I don’t think I am passionate about corporate finance anymore, despite my degree.”
(A) Among you and me
(B) Between us and them
(C) Between you and me
(D) Beside you and me
12 “______, this role is just glorified data entry with a fancy title to make it sound important.”
(A) Basic
(B) Basically
(C) On a basic level
(D) Likewise
13 “Please don’t be mad. ______, I have already accepted a lower-paying job at a non-profit organization.”
(A) Truth to be told
(B) True be told
(C) Furthermore
(D) Truth be told
14 “I appreciate how supportive you’ve been with your advice. ______, it is my life and I have to choose my own path.”
(A) At the end of the day
(B) In the end of the day
(C) At the day’s end
(D) In the meantime
15 “______, the CEO’s vision for the department sounded completely unethical and borderline illegal to me.”
(A) Quiet frankly
(B) Quite frankly
(C) Quite frank
(D) Consequently
16 “______, I was never going to accept it. I just went to the interview for the practice.”
(A) To be perfectly honestly
(B) Surprisingly
(C) To be perfectly honest
(D) To be perfect honest
17 “They offered me a massive signing bonus to change my mind. ______, that only made me want to run away faster.”
(A) Funny enough
(B) Funnily
(C) Hence
(D) Funnily enough
18 “You assume I am devastated to lose this opportunity. ______, I feel like a massive weight has been lifted off my shoulders.”
(A) In the contrary
(B) On the contrary
(C) To the contrary
(D) In short
19 “They bragged about their amazing perks, but ______, the benefits package was actually worse than my current one.”
(A) in actual facts
(B) in the actual fact
(C) to summarize
(D) in actual fact
20 “I know it’s a prestigious firm. ______, I value my mental health more than a fancy logo on my resume.”
(A) Be it as it may
(B) Being that as it may
(C) By the same token
(D) Be that as it may
ANSWER KEY & EXPLANATIONS
1 (A) To be honest
- Why it is correct: A standard discourse marker to introduce a truthful confession, especially one that might disappoint the listener.
- Distractor Analysis: (B) Structural Error: “honest” is an adjective; “honestly” is an adverb. After the verb “to be,” an adjective is required. (C) Common Mistake: Unnatural translation from other languages. (D) Meaning Trap: “Nevertheless” shows contrast, but doesn’t set the personal, confessional tone needed here.
2 (B) As a matter of fact
- Why it is correct: Used to add emphasis to a truthful statement, often one that corrects an assumption (in this case, the assumption that they accepted the job).
- Distractor Analysis: (A) Structural Error: Missing the article “a”. (C) Common Mistake: Using “In” instead of “As”. (D) Meaning Trap: Wrong logical connection.
3 (C) Frankly
- Why it is correct: Used to show that you are expressing your opinion in a direct and honest way, even if it seems negative.
- Distractor Analysis: (A) Structural Error: “To be” requires an adjective (“frank”), not an adverb. (B) Structural Error: Cannot stand alone at the beginning of a sentence without “-ly”. (D) Meaning Trap: “By the way” is for changing the subject, not for a serious confession.
4 (C) to tell you the truth
- Why it is correct: A conversational idiom used before stating something that contradicts what people believe or expect.
- Distractor Analysis: (A) Structural Error: Missing the pronoun and infinitive marker. (B) Common Mistake: “Say” cannot take an indirect object (“you”) without “to”. We “tell someone”, not “say someone”. (D) Meaning Trap: Used to link to a related topic.
5 (D) In all honesty
- Why it is correct: A stronger, slightly more formal version of “to be honest.”
- Distractor Analysis: (A) Structural Error: “Honest” is an adjective; a noun (“honesty”) is needed after the preposition “In”. (B) Common Mistake: Incorrect preposition (“With”). (C) Meaning Trap: Does not fit the context of a confession.
6 (A) To put it bluntly
- Why it is correct: Used when you are about to say something very direct, harsh, and without trying to be polite.
- Distractor Analysis: (B) Structural Error: Missing the object “it”. (C) Common Mistake: Using the adjective “blunt” instead of the adverb “bluntly” to modify the verb “put”. (D) Meaning Trap: Used for consequences, not tone-setting.
7 (B) in reality
- Why it is correct: Used to contrast a false appearance (smiling) with the actual truth (panicking).
- Distractor Analysis: (A) Common Mistake: “In real” is incorrect; “for real” exists, but “in reality” is the proper marker here. (C) Structural Error: Wrong preposition. (D) Meaning Trap: “Basically” means “fundamentally,” which doesn’t contrast the outer appearance with inner truth as well as “in reality.”
8 (C) Admittedly
- Why it is correct: Used to confess or concede that something is true, often something reluctant (like acknowledging how hard it was to say no to money).
- Distractor Analysis: (A) Structural Error: Needs the adverbial “-ly” suffix to modify the sentence. (B) Common Mistake: “Admittingly” is not a standard English word. (D) Meaning Trap: Wrong logical connection.
9 (D) Actually
- Why it is correct: Used to state the truth or facts of a situation, especially to correct a misunderstanding (the family thinking it was a hasty decision).
- Distractor Analysis: (A) Structural Error: Adjective form; requires the adverbial “-ly” form at the start of a clause. (B) Common Mistake: “Currently” is a false friend for many learners; it means “at present time,” not “in reality.” (C) Meaning Trap: Means “at the same time.”
10 (A) as it turns out
- Why it is correct: Used to introduce an unexpected truth or fact that was discovered later.
- Distractor Analysis: (B) Structural Error: Missing “out”. (C) Common Mistake: Incorrect phrasing. (D) Meaning Trap: Means “generally” or “mostly.”
11 (C) Between you and me
- Why it is correct: A standard idiom used to indicate that what you are about to say is a secret or a private confession.
- Distractor Analysis: (A) Structural Error: “Among” is for three or more; “between” is used for two entities (you and me). (B) Meaning Trap: Changes the meaning. (D) Structural Error: Wrong preposition.
12 (B) Basically
- Why it is correct: Used to summarize the most important truth of a situation, stripping away the complex or misleading details (the “fancy title”).
- Distractor Analysis: (A) Structural Error: Needs the “-ally” suffix to function as a sentence adverb. (C) Common Mistake: Unnatural phrasing for this specific conversational function. (D) Meaning Trap: Means “similarly.”
13 (D) Truth be told
- Why it is correct: A highly natural idiom equivalent to “to tell you the truth.”
- Distractor Analysis: (A) Common Mistake: Unnecessary “to”. (B) Structural Error: “True” is an adjective; the noun “Truth” is required. (C) Meaning Trap: “Furthermore” adds information, but lacks the confessional tone.
14 (A) At the end of the day
- Why it is correct: A very common discourse marker used to introduce the most important fact or the ultimate conclusion after all other things have been considered.
- Distractor Analysis: (B) Common Mistake: “In the end” means eventually, but the full idiom requires “At”. (C) Structural Error: Unnatural word order. (D) Meaning Trap: Means “meanwhile.”
15 (B) Quite frankly
- Why it is correct: Adds an intensifier (“quite”) to “frankly” to emphasize how serious and direct the speaker is being about a negative opinion (unethical vision).
- Distractor Analysis: (A) Structural Error: Spelling confusion (“Quiet” vs “Quite”). (C) Common Mistake: Requires the adverb “-ly”. (D) Meaning Trap: Wrong discourse marker.
16 (C) To be perfectly honest
- Why it is correct: An intensified version of “To be honest,” fitting perfectly with a major confession.
- Distractor Analysis: (A) Structural Error: “To be” requires an adjective (“honest”), not an adverb (“honestly”). (B) Meaning Trap: Wrong function. (D) Common Mistake: “Perfect” must be an adverb (“perfectly”) to modify the adjective “honest”.
17 (D) Funnily enough
- Why it is correct: Used to introduce a fact or situation that is surprising or ironic (a bonus usually attracts people, but here it repelled them).
- Distractor Analysis: (A) Common Mistake: “Funny enough” is often said informally but is grammatically incorrect in written/standard English. (B) Structural Error: Missing “enough”. (C) Meaning Trap: “Hence” implies logical consequence, missing the irony.
18 (B) On the contrary
- Why it is correct: Used to bluntly deny a statement or assumption (that the speaker is devastated) and introduce the exact opposite truth (they are relieved).
- Distractor Analysis: (A) Common Mistake: Incorrect preposition (“In”). (C) Structural Error: “To the contrary” is usually used after a noun (e.g., “evidence to the contrary”). (D) Meaning Trap: Wrong logical connection.
19 (D) in actual fact
- Why it is correct: An emphatic way of saying “in fact” or “actually,” used to highlight the stark difference between the company’s claims and reality.
- Distractor Analysis: (A) Structural Error: “Fact” must be singular in this idiom. (B) Common Mistake: Unnecessary article “the”. (C) Meaning Trap: Wrong function.
20 (D) Be that as it may
- Why it is correct: A formal but highly useful concession marker meaning “Even if that is true” or “Nevertheless.” The speaker admits the firm is prestigious, but the truth is their health matters more.
- Distractor Analysis: (A) Common Mistake: Missing “that”. (B) Structural Error: Incorrect verb form. (C) Meaning Trap: Means “in the same way” or “for the same reason.”
GRAMMAR POINTS TO REMEMBER
When you need to deliver surprising news, contradict someone’s expectations, or share an uncomfortable truth, you need Hedging and Truth-Telling Markers.
- To establish sincerity and soften a blow:
- To be honest / In all honesty / To tell you the truth. * Example: “To be honest, the salary wasn’t enough.” (This prepares the listener for a slight disappointment).
- To be direct and slightly blunt:
- Frankly / Quite frankly / To put it bluntly.
- Example: “To put it bluntly, the company culture is toxic.” (This signals that you are not going to sugarcoat your words).
- To correct a false assumption:
- Actually / In reality / As a matter of fact / In actual fact.
- Example: “You think I’m sad. In reality, I’m relieved.” (These markers create a sharp contrast between appearance and truth).
- To share a secret or private opinion:
- Between you and me / Truth be told.
- Grammar Note: Never say “Between you and I.” Because “between” is a preposition, it must take object pronouns (me, him, her, us, them).
- To deliver the ultimate bottom line:
- At the end of the day / Basically.
- Example: “At the end of the day, my mental health comes first.” (Use this to shut down further argument and state your final, non-negotiable truth).