Practice Makes Perfect

Linking sentences and paragraphs

Smooth, orderly, and logical transitions from one sentence to the next, and from one paragraph 

to another, are key to creating clear meaning and flow in any document. This can be achieved by 

using prepositional and adverbial phrases, impersonal expressions, verbs, and conjunctions. 

These structures are organized here according to their meaning rather than their grammatical 

definition.

Expressing personal viewpoints

You may begin a sentence with a phrase such as Selon moi or with a verb phrase such as Je crois 

to make it clear that you are giving your own point of view. Here are some examples followed by 

a paragraph in which you will notice how transitional words allow the smooth development of 

ideas:

Selon moi 

In my opinion

À mon avis 

In my opinion

D’après moi 

In my opinion

Je crois que 

I believe that

Je ne crois pas que 

I do not believe that

Je pense que 

I think that

Je ne pense pas que 

I do not think that

Je suis convaincu(e) que 

I am convinced that