L INKING W ORDS S HOWING C ONTRAST in spite of / despite + noun phrase + -ing verb despite is more formal although / though / even though + subject + verb In spite of his age, he still drives a car Despite being old, he still drives a car Although / though he is old, he still drives a car Even though he is old, he still drives a car Despite the fact he is old, he still drives a car The French exam was easy However, the chemistry exam was difficult On the one hand, the city offers lots of entertainment On the other hand, it's very noisy in spite of the fact / despite the fact however / nevertheless They show two contrasting facts Nevertheless is stronger than however on the one hand, … on the other hand, … They show contrasting sides of the same person or thing On the other hand is often used alone on the contrary, It strengthens the negative of something whereas / while They introduce a contrast between two people or things which are in other ways similar in contrast to / contrary to + subject + verb + noun phrase in spite of, despite: a pesar de although, though, even though: aunque in spite of the fact, despite the fact: a pesar del hecho de however, nevertheless: sin embargo on the one hand,… on the other hand,…: por un lado,…por otro,… on the contrary: por el contrario whereas, while: mientras in contrast to / contrary to: a diferencia de / al contrario de The lecture was boring On the other hand, it was very short The economy won't improve this year On the contrary, it is likely to get worse Their house is on top of a hill, whereas/while ours is in the valley In contrast to other TV shows, this one is very amusing Name: LINKING WORDS SHOWING CONTRAST Date: / E X E RCI SES / 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 _ 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 INSERT on the other hand OR in the contrary IN THESE SENTENCES 3.1 Schools nowadays not encourage memorisation, , pupils 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 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