As Spanish only has roughly one-third the vocabulary of English, around 330,000 versus 1 million words, it is only natural to see the same linking words used frequently. This sometimes feels unnatural for English speakers who were taught to never repeat the same linking word  in essays or reports. Keep in mind however, it is very frequent in Spanish that one word has various meanings in English. It is always the context which helps determine which word is meant. The following words are extremely useful when writing short stories or essays and are paramount when you are recounting a story or something that happened to you. They should be at the top of the vocabulary list for new learners to the language.

pero (but)

sino  (but rather)

porque  (because)

sin embargo  (however)

también   (also)

bastante (enough)

salvo, excepto (except)

aunque, más bien (even though)

hasta  (until)

a causa de (because of)

después  (after)

antes  (before)

mientras (while)

a pesar de (que)  (in spite of)

al principio  (at first)

luego  (later/then)

de repente  (suddenly)

para empezar  (to begin)

por fin  (at last)