L inking words of concession

Although, though and even though

• ‘Although’, ‘even though’ & ‘though’ have very similar meanings.

• ‘Though’ is used informally

• ‘Even though’ adds more emphasis to the sentence.

• They are followed by a clause (ie a subject and a verb)

	although though even though	subject	verb
He passed the exam		he	hadn’t studied
She went swimming		it	was cold
Alan went to Don’s Tavern		he	should have been at a lecture.

Despite and In spite of

• ‘Despite’ & ‘in spite of’ mean exactly the same thing.

• They must be followed by a noun

He failed the exam	despite in spite of	Noun
		his revision
		studying hard
		the fact that he had studied hard

It is possible to change the clause into a noun in 3 different ways

1. Change the verb / adjective into a noun

2. Use the gerund (___ing). We can only do this when the subject in the 2 clauses are the same

3. Start the clause with ‘the fact that’…

Put in the correct linking word into the spaces

1. ______________ he tried hard, he could not understand the lecturer.

2. The match continued ______________ the rain

3. They stayed in the club all night______________ they were tired

4. They continued the experiment, ______________ not having permission from the Ethics Committee.

5. ______________ he speaks well, he still has difficulty in writing.

6. ______________ a small sample was used, the results were still reliable.

7. Luis applied for the job, ______________ he did not have the required qualifications.

8. ______________ the evidence, the jury pronounced a not guilty verdict.

9. ______________ having a lot of money, he was still unhappy

10. They both received High Distinctions for their work, ______________ the fact that Neil had clearly plagiarised his assignment.

‘Because of’ and ‘due to’

• ‘Because of’ and ‘due to’ mean exactly the same thing.

• They must be followed by a noun

‘Because’, ‘as’ and ‘since’

• ‘Because’, ‘as’ and ‘since’ mean exactly the same thing.

• They must be followed by a clause

Although Despite

Even though + clause In spite of + noun

Though

Because Because of

As + clause Due to + noun

Since

Change these sentences so that they mean the same using the word in brackets

11. Despite the computer virus on her computer, she managed to finish her assignment. (although)

12. He made a lot of money because he was successful (due to)

13. Australia continued to grow, even though there was a recession. (in spite of)

14. Although it raised many important points, the study was controversial, (despite)

15. Many animals died because there was a drought (due to).

Answers

1. Although / though / even though

2. Despite / in spite of

3. Although / though / even though

4. Despite / in spite of

5. Although / though / even though

6. Although / though / even though

7. Although / though / even though

8. Despite / in spite of

9. Despite / in spite of

10. Despite / in spite of

11. Although she had / found / discovered a virus on her computer, ….

Although there was a virus on her computer….

12. He made a lot of money due to his success

13. Australia continued to grow despite the recession.

14. Despite being controversial, the study…

15. Many animals died due to the drought.