Discourse markers in English: well, anyway, actually, mind you and by the way
Take any page of English subtitles and count the words that do no grammatical work at all. Well, anyway, actually, you know, mind you, by the way. A learner reading with a dictionary finds nothing useful under any of them, concludes they are padding, and cuts them from their own speech.
That is the wrong conclusion. These are discourse markers, and they are the traffic signals of English conversation. They tell the listener what kind of sentence is coming: a correction, a change of subject, bad news, a concession. Native speakers navigate by them without noticing. Speech with no markers at all is grammatical, and it sounds like a legal document being read out under oath.
This page covers the six you will meet most, what each one signals socially, and which ones belong to speech only.
What a discourse marker is
A discourse marker is a word or phrase that stands outside the grammar of the sentence and comments on it. Remove it and nothing breaks:
- Well, it was not my idea. → It was not my idea.
- Anyway, we got there in the end. → We got there in the end.
Both stripped versions are correct. What is lost is the signal: the well warned the listener that the speaker was distancing themselves from something, and the anyway told them a story was being wrapped up. Markers carry social meaning, not dictionary meaning, which is why translating them one-for-one into another language so often fails.
The six that matter
well - softening what comes next
At the start of a turn, well announces that the answer will not be the simple yes the other person was hoping for.
- Did you like it? - Well, the music was good.
- Is it far? - Well, it depends how you travel.
The pattern to learn: question, then well, then a polite miss. The music was good means no, I did not like it, and every native speaker hears it that way. English strongly avoids the bare no in conversation, and well is the main tool for getting around it. See indirect questions for the same politeness instinct applied to word order.
anyway - changing the subject, or leaving
Anyway closes the current topic. Where the conversation goes next decides the flavour:
- Back to the point after a side story: Anyway, as I was saying, we need a plan.
- On to a new topic: Anyway, how was your week?
- Towards the exit: Anyway, I should let you go.
That last one is close to a fixed phrase. Anyway, I should let you go or anyway, I will let you get on is how British phone calls end, and the claim that the OTHER person needs to leave is a polite fiction both sides accept. Nobody is fooled and nobody minds.
actually - correcting the record
Actually introduces a fact that contradicts what was said or assumed, and it softens the correction while making it:
- Actually, it is my round. (You thought it was yours. It is not.)
- She is my sister, actually. (You guessed wrong, and I am telling you gently.)
Position changes the temperature. At the front, actually is a mild heads-up. At the end, it can carry an edge: I do know what I am doing, actually is a small push back. In the middle, it is nearly invisible: It was actually quite good.
The trap for Spanish and French speakers is severe enough to repeat: actually does not mean actualmente or actuellement. It means in fact. For currently, say currently or at the moment. Actually I work in London tells an English listener you are correcting them, not describing the present.
by the way - the sideways topic
By the way introduces something off the current topic while marking it as minor:
- By the way, your mum called.
- Oh, by the way, we are out of milk.
The signal is "this is not part of the main conversation". Be aware that speakers also use it strategically: the thing introduced by the way is sometimes the thing they came to say. By the way, were you going to pay me back? is not a small sideways remark, and both people know it.
mind you - conceding against yourself
Mind you adds a point that pulls against what the speaker just said. It is a built-in balance mechanism:
- The food was terrible. Mind you, it was cheap.
- He never calls. Mind you, neither do I.
The speaker makes a claim, hears how one-sided it sounds, and files the correction themselves before anyone else can. It is spoken British English through and through, and one of the surest small signs of a natural speaker.
to be fair - credit to the other side
To be fair concedes a point in someone or something's defence, usually just after criticising them:
- She was two hours late. To be fair, the roads were closed.
- It is a boring job. To be fair, they pay well.
It keeps the criticism on the table while showing you are being reasonable about it. The related in fairness does the same job slightly more formally.
Quick reference
| Marker | Signals | Typical position | Register |
|---|---|---|---|
| well | soft no, hesitation, distance | start of a turn | spoken |
| anyway | topic closed, moving on | start of sentence | spoken, informal writing |
| actually | correction, surprise | start, middle, end | spoken and written |
| by the way | new minor topic | start of sentence | spoken, messages |
| mind you | concession against yourself | start of sentence | spoken only |
| to be fair | credit to the criticised side | start of sentence | spoken, informal writing |
Mind you is the one that does not survive on paper: in an essay it reads as chatty to the point of odd. Well as a turn-opener is also spoken only, for the simple reason that essays do not take turns. Actually crosses into writing comfortably, and however or in fact cover the formal end. For the connectives that do belong in writing, see linking words.
Why subtitles are full of them
Scripted dialogue imitates real speech, and real speech runs on markers, so subtitles are where learners meet them in bulk. This makes films and series genuinely good teachers here, with one warning: subtitles compress, and the markers are the first thing subtitle editors cut when a line runs long. If the audio says Well, anyway, look, the point is we lost and the subtitle says The point is we lost, the audio is the lesson.
The deeper reason to learn them is what your own speech sounds like without them. A learner who answers Did you like the food? with a flat No is grammatically perfect and socially loud. The native version, Well, not really, to be fair the fish was fine, wraps one no in three layers of padding. English speakers soften almost everything; the markers are how. Their close cousins, the vagueness words sort of and a bit, get their own page at hedging and vague language.
Common mistakes
Ranked by how often learners actually make them.
- Using actually to mean currently. Actually I live in Madrid is a correction, not a description. Say currently or at the moment.
- Deleting all markers and sounding abrupt. Do you want to come? - No. The grammar is fine; the effect is cold. Well, not tonight costs two extra words and keeps the friendship.
- Writing spoken markers in essays. Mind you, anyway and turn-opening well belong in speech and messages. In formal writing use however, nevertheless or in fact.
- Hearing by the way as always innocent. It marks the NEXT topic as minor; it does not promise the speaker believes that. Listen to what follows it.
- Answering the words instead of the signal. Well, the seats were comfortable is a no. Taking it as a yes is a listening error, not a grammar error, and it is the one that costs learners in real conversations.
Practice
What is each speaker signalling? Answers are below.
- Anyway, it is getting late.
- Actually, that seat is taken.
- Well, I have seen better films.
- Mind you, the tickets were free.
- To be fair, she did warn us.
Answers: 1. closing the conversation, probably leaving 2. correcting you, politely 3. a soft way of saying the film was bad 4. conceding a point against the complaint just made 5. giving the criticised person credit
Discourse markers are one half of the machinery English uses to take the edge off. The other half is deliberate vagueness, covered at hedging and vague language, and the tag questions that fish for agreement at question tags.