Improve Your Writing with Contrast and Concession

Improve Your Writing with Contrast and Concession¹

For VOA Learning English, this is Everyday Grammar.

Today we are going to talk about words that connect opposing ideas.

We call these ideas contrast or concession. Some of these adverbs are but, although, however and despite. These words will help you communicate more complex ideas. They will improve the flow and clarity of your writing.

Contrast versus² concession 

Let us begin by understanding the differences between contrast and concession. Here are two examples:

I used to live in Malaysia, but now I live in Thailand.

Even though I live in Malaysia, I work in Thailand.

The first example shows a simple contrast. The first sentence, “I used to live in Malaysia” indicates my previous place of residence. The second part of the sentence, “but now I live in Thailand”, shows that I now live in another place. The statement contrasts these two different places: the one where I used to live and the one where I live now.

In the second example, “Even though I live in Malaysia” tells you where I live now. But this sentence contains a surprise for my readers: “I work in Thailand.” When the opposing idea is something readers do not expect or that surprises them, we call it concession.

But

Let us start with but, the most common way to show contrast. But is a coordinator³. We use it to connect ideas that are more or less of equal value. Here are some examples:

The students were tired after the test, but were happy with their results.

Some refugees have found new homes, but others are still living in camps.

Luca tried to solve the math problem for two hours, but he could not find the answer.

In the second and third examples, notice that the conjunction but connects two independent sentences or clauses. In this case, we use a comma before but.

However, nevertheless, nonetheless

A more formal way to say but is however. Consider the examples:

We really wanted to go to that concert; however, we could not afford the tickets.

Car prices went up fast. However, motorcycle prices are still the same.

In these examples, you can replace however with nevertheless or nonetheless. The idea will remain the same. However and nonetheless can make your sentences more formal.

You have some options for punctuation⁴. You could write, “I am tired. [period] However, [comma] I will finish the job.” Or you could write, “I am tired; [semicolon] however, [comma] I will finish the job.” The semicolon is a punctuation option to connect two independent clauses that are closely related. It is up to the writer to decide whether to use a period or a semicolon.

Although, even though, and though

Although and even though are two common adverbs to express unexpected results or surprises. They are subordinators: adverbs that show that one idea is more important than the other. Here are some examples:

I managed to fall asleep although we were watching an action movie.

Although we were watching an action movie, I managed to fall asleep.

In both sentences, the subordinating conjunction although is attached to the clause that contains the less important idea. “Although we were watching an action movie,” cannot stand alone as a sentence; it is a subordinate clause. If the subordinate clause comes first, we must separate the two by using a comma. If the subordinate clause comes second, there is no comma.

Here are two examples with even though.

These students already know how to read even though they are still in kindergarten.

Even though these students are still in kindergarten, they already know how to read.

Though is less formal than although and even though. It is more common in spoken English. Here are some examples:

Though Indra waited for almost an hour, his doctor never showed up.

Indra’s doctor never showed up though he waited for almost an hour.

To make your sentence even more conversational⁵, you can move though to the end:

Indra waited for almost an hour. His doctor never showed up, though.

In spite of, despite

In spite of and despite are also subordinators to show unexpected results. They also come attached to the subordinate clause. However, they require a different sentence structure. Consider the examples:

That man has saved a lot of money in spite of earning a small salary.

That artist is very creative despite having limited resources.

In these examples, in spite of and despite are followed by a gerund. A gerund is the “-ing” form of a verb which functions like a noun. In the sentences above, “earning a small salary” and “having limited resources” are gerund phrases.

Despite and in spite of can also be followed by noun phrases.

My brother has managed to save a lot of money in spite of his small salary.

That artist is very creative despite her limited resources.

His small salary and her limited resources are noun phrases.

In spite of that

In spite of that can also be used to indicate contrast or concession, but it works as a coordinating⁶ conjunction. Therefore, it is used to connect two independent clauses. For example:

Most students had understood the explanation; in spite of that, the teacher wrote a few more examples.

It rained for almost three hours non-stop. In spite of that, the ground is already dry.

Practice

The best way to master these transition words is to make up a few sentences of your own. After you start practicing, you will naturally begin to remember when and how to use these words more accurately⁷. Try to write a few sentences using the transition words above and post them here for comments.

Words in This Story

contrast - n. a difference between people or things that are being compared

concession - n. grammar. a clause which begins with "although" or "even though" and which expresses an idea that suggests the opposite of the main part of the sentence.

clause - n. grammar. a part of a sentence that has its own subject and verb

semicolon – n.  the punctuation mark ; that is used to separate major parts in a sentence and to separate items in a series if the items contain commas

subordinate clause – n. grammar. a clause that does not form a simple sentence by itself and that is connected to the main clause of a sentence

gerund – n. grammar. an English noun formed from a verb by adding -ing

1 concession   

n.让步，妥协；特许(权)

参考例句：

• We can not make heavy concession to the matter.我们在这个问题上不能过于让步。
• That is a great concession.这是很大的让步。

2 versus   

prep.以…为对手，对；与…相比之下

参考例句：

• The big match tonight is England versus Spain.今晚的大赛是英格兰对西班牙。
• The most exciting game was Harvard versus Yale.最富紧张刺激的球赛是哈佛队对耶鲁队。

3 coordinator   

n.协调人

参考例句：

• The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, headed by the Emergency Relief Coordinator, coordinates all UN emergency relief. 联合国人道主义事务协调厅在紧急救济协调员领导下，负责协调联合国的所有紧急救济工作。
• How am I supposed to find the client-relations coordinator? 我怎么才能找到客户关系协调员的办公室？

4 punctuation   

n.标点符号，标点法

参考例句：

• My son's punctuation is terrible.我儿子的标点符号很糟糕。
• A piece of writing without any punctuation is difficult to understand.一篇没有任何标点符号的文章是很难懂的。

5 conversational   

adj.对话的，会话的

参考例句：

• The article is written in a conversational style.该文是以对话的形式写成的。
• She values herself on her conversational powers.她常夸耀自己的能言善辩。

6 coordinating   

v.使协调，使调和( coordinate的现在分词 )；协调；协同；成为同等

参考例句：

• He abolished the Operations Coordinating Board and the Planning Board. 他废除了行动协调委员会和计划委员会。 来自辞典例句
• He's coordinating the wedding, and then we're not going to invite him? 他是来协调婚礼的，难道我们不去请他？ 来自电影对白

7 accurately   

adv.准确地，精确地

参考例句：

• It is hard to hit the ball accurately.准确地击中球很难。
• Now scientists can forecast the weather accurately.现在科学家们能准确地预报天气。