L INKING W ORDS S HOWING C ONTRAST

1
in spite of / despite + noun phrase In spite of his age, he still drives
+ -ing verb a car.

despite is more formal Despite being old, he still drives

a car.
2
although / though / + subject + verb Although / though he is old, he
even though still drives a car.

Even though he is old, he still

drives a car.

3
in spite of the fact / despite Despite the fact he is old, he
the fact still drives a car.
4
however / nevertheless The French exam was easy.
They show two contrasting facts However, the chemistry exam
Nevertheless is stronger than however was difficult.
5
on the one hand, … on the On the one hand, the city offers
other hand, … lots of entertainment. On the
They show contrasting sides of the other hand, it's very noisy.
same person or thing
On the other hand is often used alone The lecture was boring. On the
other hand, it was very short.
6
on the contrary, + subject + verb The economy won't improve
It strengthens the negative of this year. On the contrary, it is
something likely to get worse.
7
whereas / while Their house is on top of a hill,
They introduce a contrast whereas/while ours is in the
between two people or things valley.
which are in other ways
similar
8
in contrast to / contrary to + noun phrase In contrast to other TV shows,
this one is very amusing.

1
in spite of, despite: a pesar de
2
although, though, even though: aunque
3
in spite of the fact, despite the fact: a pesar del hecho de
4
however, nevertheless: sin embargo
5
on the one hand,… on the other hand,…: por un lado,…por otro,…
6
on the contrary: por el contrario
7
whereas, while: mientras
8
in contrast to / contrary to: a diferencia de / al contrario de
Name: Date: / /
LINKING WORDS SHOWING CONTRAST E X E RC I SE S

1. REWRITE THESE SENTENCES USING in spite of, despite AND however / nevertheless.

1.1 he was never satisfied / he was one of the richest men in the world

_____________________________________________________________________

1.2 we arrived on time / the heavy traffic on the motorway

_____________________________________________________________________

1.3 our team lost two early goals / our team won comfortably in the end

_____________________________________________________________________

1.4 our present economic difficulties / the company should recover next year.

_____________________________________________________________________

1.5 the police chief fought against the Mafia / he received death threats

_____________________________________________________________________

1.6 she became president of the company / widespread prejudice against women

_____________________________________________________________________

1.7 the planet is beautiful / there is something frightening about it

_____________________________________________________________________

1.8 the Ancient Greeks discovered steam power / they did not use it industrially

_____________________________________________________________________

1.9 my sister eats meat / my brother is a strict vegetarian

_____________________________________________________________________

1.10 modern computers occupy much less space / early computers took up whole rooms

_____________________________________________________________________
2. READ THE NEWS ITEMS BELOW. CHOOSE BETWEEN although AND in spite of or despite.

2.1 The government has announced that although / in spite of the sharp downturn in
economic activity, it will not abandon its anti-inflation policy. Although / In spite of
unemployment increased by 250,000 last month, tight control of government
spending is seen as the key to recovery.
2.2 Famines and food shortage have increased in the Third World despite / although
improved methods of agriculture. Moreover, in spite of / although there is actually a
surplus of some type of food in Western Europe and the USA, much of this food is
wasted, or even destroyed.

3. INSERT on the other hand OR in the contrary IN THESE SENTENCES.

3.1 Schools nowadays do not encourage memorisation, ________________________,

pupils do more projects and investigate work than before.
3.2 Our firm has no objections to employing older people. ________________________,
applications from people over 50 will be welcomed.
3.3 I have never heard John say anything bad about you. ________________________,
he's always spoken well of you.
3.4 The original Salko GL was not an advanced car, technically,
________________________, it was inexpensive, comfortable and easy to maintain.

4. INSERT whereas OR although.

4.1 Whales and dolphins are not fish ________________________ spend their lives in
water.
4.2 English is a Germanic language ________________________ French is descended
from Latin.
4.3 Smoking is still a common habit ________________________ people know it is
harmful.
4.4 Mercury is a metal ________________________ it is a liquid at room temperature.
4.5 Many people believe in astrology ________________________ it lacks any scientific
proof.
4.6 Soccer is played with a round ball ________________________ rugby is played with
an oval ball.
4.7 In Britain, spring starts in April ________________________ in Australia it starts in
September.
5. FILL IN THE BLANKS WITH A SUITABLE PHRASE.

5.1 Helen wasn't hungry. Nevertheless, ________________________________________

5.2 Even though _________________________________________________, everyone

walked past him.

5.3 In contrast to _________________________________________, I usually stay at

home at weekends.

5.4 On the one hand, we love travelling abroad. On the other hand, _________________

________________________________________________

5.5 My son is interested in sport, whereas ______________________________________

5.6 In spite of ___________________________________________________, Mark isn't

afraid of driving.