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Contrast clauses
Introduction:
You use contrast clauses when you want to make two statements, one of which contrasts with the other or makes it appear unexpected or surprising. Some contrast clauses – called concessive clauses – are introduced by conjunctions such as although, even though or while.

Although Mrs. Sims had lived in Hong Kong all her life, she knew very little Cantonese.

While the number of families with access to the Internet and cable television has risen sharply in the past decade, what tends to be overlooked is that a significant proportion of households are unable to afford the fees for these services.

Don’t use but in sentences beginning with although, even though or while. Here is a common mistake:

Although Kelvin worked hard, but he failed the examination.

You can leave out the subject and the verb be in a contrast clause when the subject of the contrast clause and the main clause are the same (e.g. he was in the following sentence).

Though / Although [he was] hard working, Kelvin failed the examination.

You will sometimes see the word albeit used in formal English. Albeit can come before an adjective, adverb, or adverbial phrase. In the sentence below, ‘albeit rather reluctantly’ means ‘even though she did so rather reluctantly’.

Jayne participated in the charity walk, albeit rather reluctantly.

You can also use despite or in spite of to make a contrast. These are followed by either a noun phrase or an ‘ing’ form.

Despite working hard, Kelvin failed the examination.
In spite of his hard work, Kelvin failed the examination.

This sentence is incorrect:

Despite he worked hard, Kelvin failed the examination.

If you want to follow despite or in spite of with a clause you must add the fact that.

Despite the fact that he worked hard, Kelvin failed the examination.

The word yet has many meanings. One of these is a similar meaning to but, although it expresses more surprise about something unexpected. It can come between adjectives, adverbs or clauses. For example:

He was poor yet generous.
He worked slowly yet effectively.
He loved animals, yet he hated snakes.
Reason clauses
In your written and spoken assignments you will often need to answer the question ‘Why?’. When you want to explain why something happens, you can use a reason clause introduced by the conjunctions because, as or since.
  • As she wanted to practise her spoken English, Carrie regularly took part in the ELC’s Big Mouth Corner.
Mark joined the English Drama Club because he wanted to improve his intonation.

Don’t use so in sentences beginning with since, as or because. Here is a common mistake:

Since he was interested in movies, so David joined the PolyU International Film Society.

You can also use the prepositional phrases because of, seeing that and on account of to express reason.
  • We were unable to carry out the experiment on account of a malfunction in the computer.
  • We were unable to carry out the experiment seeing that there was a malfunction in the computer.
  • We were unable to carry out the experiment because the computer malfunctioned.

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