Abstract
We examine discourse connectives from the perspective of reference (i.e. a presence of an anaphoric/cataphoric element). We introduce a division of connectives into: i) connectives without an inherent (internal) reference (e.g. "and", "but", "or", "if", "however", "then"), and ii) connectives with an inherent (internal) reference that is either optional (e.g. "as a result" vs. "as a result of this"), or obligatory - cf. already grammaticalized connectives (i.e. primary connectives like "thereafter", "therefore" or "thereby") vs. not yet grammaticalized connectives (i.e. secondary connectives like "because of this", "for this reason").