Sentence connectors showing cause and effect

In English, we use several different words to show cause and effect. Examples are: for, because,
as, since, therefore, hence, as a result, consequently, due to, because of, as a result of etc.

· He must be asleep for there is no light in his room.

· I decided to call it a day – for I was feeling tired.

· I helped him because I liked him.

· Since he had not paid the rent, he was told to vacate the room.

· As it is raining again, we will have to stay at home.

· It was raining, so we stayed at home.

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Grammar explanation

The main difference between although, even though, in spite of and despite is that they are used
with different structures.

in spite of / despite

· After in spite of and despite, we use a noun, gerund (-ing form of a verb) or a pronoun.

· They never made much money, in spite of their success.

· In spite of the pain in his leg, he completed the marathon.

· Despite having a headache, I had a great birthday.

· The train was cancelled. In spite of that, we arrived on time.

although / even though

· I enjoyed the course, although I would have liked more grammar practice.
 · Although we saw each other every day, we didn't really know each other.

· Even though she spoke very quietly, he understood every word.

· She didn't get the job, even though she had all the necessary qualifications.

though

· Though can be used in the same way as although.

· Though I wasn't keen on the film, I thought the music was beautiful.

· Though can also go at the end of the second phrase. This way of expressing contrasting
ideas is most common in spoken English.

· We waited ages for our food. The waiter was really nice, though.

· Do this exercise to test your grammar again.

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Sentence connectors showing contrast

· In this lesson we will learn about sentence connectors that join two contrasting ideas.

· To show the contrast between two ideas we can use the following sentence connectors.

· But, although, despite the fact that, however, nevertheless, despite, in spite of, yet

· His rope was thin but it was strong.

· He is fat but he runs fast.

· Although the boy was injured, he didn’t give up.

· Nevertheless is very formal. In a less formal style, we can use conjunctions like but or
yet.

Nevertheless and however don’t combine two clauses. They are used to emphasize the fact that
the point expressed by the second clause contrasts with the first. In writing, they are separated
from the rest of the sentence by a comma.
· He says that he is a socialist. However, he owns three houses and four luxury cars.

· There was little chance of success. Nevertheless, we didn’t give up.

· We went out in spite of the rain.

· In spite of having a headache, I enjoyed the film.

· Despite working hard, she failed the exam.