Comment Clauses and Discourse Markers for Nuance

As a matter of fact, I disagree with the whole proposal.

Notice

  • As a matter of fact, I disagree with the whole proposal.
  • To be fair, he did warn us in advance.
  • Mind you, the weather has been unusually bad this year.
  • That said, the results were still better than expected.

Rule

Comment clauses (as a matter of fact, to be fair, mind you, that said, if truth be told) let a speaker step back and add a nuanced evaluative aside — concession, correction, or emphasis — without restructuring the whole sentence. They’re a marker of fluent, natural C1 spoken and written style.

Practice

  1. Add nuance with ‘to be fair’: ‘He made a mistake, but he apologised immediately.’
    Answer: He made a mistake. To be fair, he apologised immediately.
  2. Use ‘that said’ to add a concession after: ‘The plan has risks.’
    Answer: The plan has risks. That said, the potential rewards are significant.
  3. What does ‘mind you’ typically introduce?
    Answer: A qualifying or contrasting afterthought to what was just said.
  4. Rewrite more naturally using ‘as a matter of fact’: ‘Actually, I already knew that.’
    Answer: As a matter of fact, I already knew that.

Connect

Read fluent native texts to spot comment clauses in context.

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CEFR: Spoken Interaction — relate contributions skilfully to those of other speakers with nuance.

Azizul Hakim
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