Advanced learners or natives,what are the most helpful and common transition words/phrases used in the chinese language?both in writing and speaking?

[Rhuang]

I am taking the AP Chinese Exam this year. I feel very unprepared, so the best I can do is learn the most common words/phrases. What are the most commonly used transition words and such? Sorry if this question is very vague, but im looking for words like 

要不然-otherwise,or else

認為-to think

心情-mood

應該-should

如果-if

etc... that i can use on the test when i am stuck and need to revert back to the basics. Chinese doesn't come naturally to me right now.

 

 

 

Also, including any commonly used idioms in your response are a plus!

(p.s. Have you taken the AP Chinese Exam?If so, what level do you consider yourself and how did you do?)

 

Thanks!

[curry]

Hmm...are you asking for sentence structures and transitions that will help the fluency of your writing/speech?

If so, some of the ones that would be good include:

不但/不仅...而且

虽然…但是

除了…还/也/都

尤其

然而、不过、可是、但是

先……再……然后……最后

因为……所以

一方面……另一方面

总之

随着

另外

Those are some of the ones that come off of the top of my head at this moment

For idioms, some ones that you could use to make your writing more elegant:

对牛弹琴、唇亡齿寒、爱屋及乌、一石二鸟、戮力同心……

From what I know about the test, it won't go crazy about which idioms you need to know, so just learn the ones that you can for your writing (though I haven't actually taken it).

Also some good ones are the phrases with numbers, e.g. 丢三落四、一清二楚、五颜六色……

Do you have a review book? I would recommend obtaining one and using that for vocab you need to know.

[Rhuang]

okay thank you! Yes i do have a review book. There are so many words that i'm trying to memorize out of it!

 

Could you also give me some examples?specifically for "sui ran" with and without "dan". I am very confused on the different uses.

[Olle Linge]

This site is very useful. It lists a large number of conjunctions sorted by function, complete with examples and translations.