EXPRESS CONTRAST

 

There are several words that can be used to express contrast.

1 The most common is but usually preceded by a comma:

He was born in Berlin, but he can’t speak German.

2 In a more formal style we can use yet:

He was one of the best students in his class, yet he scored poorly on the final exams.

3 You can also use although and, in a more informal style, though:

Although he had the flu, he went out in the cold.

Though he had the flu, he went out in the cold.

In order to give more emphasis, even can be added to though:

Even though he had the flu, he went out in the cold.

Though can be placed at the end of the sentence:

Michel’s is the best French restaurant in town. It’s kind of far away, though.

4 While and whereas are used to contrast two different things, whereas being more common in formal speech:

The Smiths’ eldest son is an engineer, while/whereas the youngest is a doctor.

5 However and nevertheless have a similar meaning to although. They are always followed by a comma:

Living on your own is very hard. However, it teaches you a lot.

The Millers have had lots of problems. Nevertheless, they’ve always been very optimistic.

6 Despite and in spite of also mean although. They are always followed by either the fact that or by a verb in the -ing form:

Despite the fact that he knew it was dangerous, he jumped.

In spite of the fact that he knew it was dangerous, he jumped.

Despite knowing it was dangerous, he jumped.

In spite of knowing it was dangerous, he jumped.

Remember!

In writing, we prefer not to start sentences with but:

He works very hard, and everybody likes him and enjoys his company. However, he’s very unreliable. (instead of: But he’s very unreliable)

Learning tip

Think about what you did in the last week. Write some sentences describing your experiences and using some of the connectors in this unit. For example: I went to class on Thursday even though I wasn’t feeling well.