CONTRAST CLAUSES

English connectors to use to express contrast:

BUT- ( so simple)

María felt ill, but she went to school.

(María se sentía mal, pero fue al colegio.)

HOWEVER ( it can introduce a phrase and CANNOT link two phrases)

María was ill. However, she went to school.

(María estaba enferma, sin embargo, fue al colegio.

NEVERTHELESS/ YET/STILL ( the same as "However")

María felt ill, yet she went to school.

WHILE/ WHEREAS( compare and emphasize the difference between two facts)

Whereas some experts expect the government to win the election, most believe that the opposition will win.

(Mientras que los expertos esperan que el gobierno gane las elecciones, la mayoría creen que lo hará la oposición).

ALTHOUGH/ THOUGH ( "though" is a connector which can be placed in the end as well)

Although he is a good singer, he couldn’t sing last night.

(Aunque es un buen cantante, no pudo cantar anoche)

EVEN IF/ EVEN THOUGH

Even though he is a good singer, he couldn’t sing last night.

(Incluso aunque es un buen cantante, no pudo cantar anoche)

IN SPITE OF/ DESPITE+ noun or noun phrase / gerund (-ing)

IN SPITE OF / DESPITE } the fact that + sentence

example with a noun →In spite of his good voice, he couldn’t sing last night.

example with a gerund → In spite of being a good singer, he couldn’t sing last night.

example with a sentence → In spite of the fact that he is a good singer, he couldn’t sing last night.

ON THE ONE HAND…ON THE OTHER HAND ( they are linkers and they are usually used together)

POR UN LADO (PARTE)…POR OTRO LADO (PARTE)

On the one hand I like going out with my friends, on the other hand sometimes I prefer staying at home.

(Por una parte me gusta salir con mis amigos, por otra parte a veces prefiero quedarme en casa.)

IN CONTRAST TO /WITH / CONTRARY TO + NOUN PHRASE

Her hair is black, in contrast with her daughter’s blonde locks.

(Su pelo es Moreno, en contraste con los rizos rubios de su hija.)

Rephrasing with connectors :

• Connectors 1

• Connectors 2

• Connectors 3

• Connectors 4

• Linkers ( FCE)

When you want to explain why something happens, you can use a clause of reason , using the following conjunctions:

• BECAUSE -

E.g: I couldn´t go fishing last Saturday because I had to work.

• SINCE/AS (ya que) -

It can be used in the middle or at the beginning of the sentence.

E.g: We don´t need to clean the kitchen today since/as we cleaned it two days ago.

Since/as we cleaned it two days ago, we don´t need to clean the kitchen today.

You can also use prepositional phrases such as:

• BECAUSE OF ( a causa de, por culpa de)

It is always followed by a noun phrase.

e.g The flight was delayed because of the severe weather.

• ON ACCOUNT OF ( debido a)

It is always followed by a noun phrase.

e.g We couldn´t carry out the experiment on account of a malfunction of the computer.

• DUE TO ( debido a)

It is always followed by a noun phrase.

e.g.: I got home late due to a flight delay.

• DUE TO THE FACT THAT ( debido a que)

It is followed by a whole sentence

e.g: I got late due to the fact that she phoned me.