we don't know them very well we'd never met before there was a light on upstairs I really like her they still lost I've never met him we live in the country she never went to university
Trang 1Ex 0 introductory exercise Contrast or concession?
Whether something expresses concession or contrast is open to interpretation, so the answers in this first exercise reflect my ideas, not necessarily some golden rule.
Simple Contrast
Concession
1 Sally is blonde, but her sister is brunette
2 Although Sally originally wanted to become a lawyer, she finally decided on a
career in medicine
3 This plan is fraught with problems. Nevertheless, I think we should go ahead
with it
4 Mark's idea would be quite expensive. Sandy's, however, sounds relatively
cheap
5 In spite of the crisis, this sector of the economy has been doing quite well
6 The South of England is relatively flat. The North, on the other hand, is much
hillier
7 He's not the greatest conversationalist. Mind you, he is rather goodlooking
8 In Geneva, most people speak French, whereas in Zurich they mainly speak
German
9 Recent sales have been disappointing. However, this month is looking rather
better
10 Much as I trust your judgement, this time In think we'll do it my way
Trang 2Exercise 1a Complete the sentences
Use although + a sentence from the box, as in the example.
we don't know them very well we'd never met before
there was a light on upstairs I really like her
they still lost I've never met him
we live in the country she never went to university
we took a taxi
Eg Although we took a taxi , we were still late
Exercise 1b Choose the best option
1 Although / Despite the rain, it was a great afternoon.
2 We had a great time though / in spite of it rained a bit.
3 She passed her test easily although / despite not doing much revision.
4 Although / Despite the salary wasn't great, she took the job.
5 Although / Despite coming first, she felt she could have done better.
6 Although / In spite of coming first isn't everything, it sure helps.
7 I managed to get tickets although / despite the queue was rather long.
8 I didn't manage to get very good seats although / , though
Trang 3Exercise 1c Convert from although to despite
Rewrite the sections in italics using despite and an ing form
1 Although he was a director, he didn't play a strong role in the company.
, he didn't play a strong role in the company.
2 She always seemed to be short of cash, although she had plenty of money in the bank.
She always seemed to be short of cash,
3 Although he talked a lot, he didn't often come up with any useful ideas.
, he didn't often come up with any useful ideas.
Rewrite the sections in italics using despite and his/her/its + noun
4 Although she was beautiful, she was quite shy.
, she was quite shy
5 We're going to buy this anyway, although it is expensive.
We're going to buy this anyway,
6 Although he promised to call me back, he never did.
, he never did.
Trang 4Exercise 2 Choose the word that fits best . Sometimes both answers are possible, so try and
decide which the sentence expresses more strongly concession (although /
while), or contrast (whereas / while).
1 I see what you're getting at, I don't necessarily agree with you
2 France is quite centralised, Germany is more federal in nature
3 she's only lived here a few years, she speaks English fluently
4 The elder daughter is training to be an engineer, her sister is studying medicine
5 the climate on the west coast is relatively warm and wet, on the east coast it's colder and drier.
6 She's usually right about these things this time I think she's mistaken
7 I got completely lost, I'd been there a couple of times before
8 in the past this type of information was only available to a few, now it is available to anyone with an internet connection
9 Most first year students live in student residences, those in their second and third years tend to prefer living in flats
10 The Prime Minister has announced early elections nobody really knows quite why
11 United have won five out of their six matches so far, City have only managed to win one.
12 the company haven't made an official announcement, many commentators expect them to launch the longawaited new model next week
Trang 5Exercise 3 even though or even if choose the best option
1 She stayed out late even though / even if I told her to be back early.
2 Even though / Even if they win, they can't get through the next round.
3 He agreed to meet them even though / even if he knew that it was pointless.
4 I really enjoyed the film, even though / even if I don't usually like Westerns.
5 It's worth going for the interview, even though / even if they turn you down.
6 We're going for a walk later even though / even if it doesn't clear up.
7 Even though / Even if we've met a few times, I don't know him very well.
8 Even though / Even if we did turn up a bit late, it wouldn't really matter.
Random Idea English http://randomideaenglish.blogspot.com
Trang 6although · as · despite · however · matter · much · still · whatever · whereas ·
wherever · whichever · whoever
1 much she practised, she just couldn't get the hang of it
2 The people were incredibly friendly, we went
3 we had already eaten, we went for a pizza
4 I've made my mind up, she says about it
5 No how hard I try, I just can't open this jar.
6 We went for a long walk, the wet weather
7 Tired we were, we managed to make it to the top of the hill
8 we spoke to told us the same thing
9 I've always been fairly relaxed, my sister gets a bit uptight
10 as I love our holidays in Spain, I do like a change sometimes
11 He did a lot of revision, but failed the exam.
12 We're going to be late, way we go
Random Idea English
Trang 7Exercise 4b Match the sentence halves, giving special emphasis to the adjectives by moving
them to the front of the sentence and adding though, as in the example.
It sounds fascinating He is rich
He was exhausted He was outclassed
He is good His answer was unlikely
It may seem strange The train is fast
The food was delicious
eg Delicious though the food was , I couldn't eat another thing.
Trang 8Exercise 8a Complete the sentences by entering ONE word into each gap.
1 She decided to take the job, even the salary was less than she had hoped for.
2 No what we talk about, she always disagrees with me.
3 She loves long walks in the country. Her sister, in , prefers to spend her weekends visiting museums.
4 I just couldn't keep up with them, hard I tried.
5 It does sound rather a long way to go just for an icecream. On the other , you won't taste a better one.
6 We still felt quite energetic, our long walk.
7 I know she speaks English quite well. Even , it's a bit much expecting her to make a speech.
8 Well I'm not going to his stupid party, you say!
9 I'm not usually very partial to red wines, although I like Chilean Cabernet
Sauvignon.
10 We're leaving in five minutes even he hasn't turned up by then.
11 We didn't particularly want to go to the function but we did so all the .
12 We took a taxi but we managed to arrive late for the concert.
13 I'm afraid I have to go now, as I would like to help you pack.
14 You well think that's the case, but I couldn't possibly comment.
15 Tell them I'm out, it is.
Trang 9Exercise 8b Choose the word or expression that fits best .
1 She's very friendly, a little shy
albeit no matter despite
2 He doesn't have a lot of experience but they decided to offer him the job .
3 they've known each other since they were children, it's only recently that they've started going out together
4 I haven't bought the tickets yet, but I don't think there'll be a any problems,
5 He earns quite a decent salary, his brother has to make do on very little.
whereas in spite of albeit
6 He borrowed my bicycle I particularly told him not to
7 the number of red squirrels in Scotland is declining, the grey squirrel population continues
to increase
8 Funny it may seem, I've never seen Star Wars.
9 The houses next to the park are quite expensive. Those a street or two away, , are a bit cheaper
10 The old house, somewhat delapidated, has a lot of charm
if as when
11 I've always wanted a Ferrari. , it would be a bit impractical, but think of how much fun you could have
However Still True
12 not having arrived at at a firm decision yet, we're increasingly inclined to accept their offer