Level 3 What do you think about it?

Task: Contrasting ideas.

Time: 4 hours

Linking words
David is sick. David went to the university
He is very rich. He is unhappy.

In this task, you are going to contrast ideas.

Pre-task
1. Take a look at the following image, those words are called “linking words” and you can use them to contrast
ideas. Your teacher will give you some examples using those words, listen to him and take note in your
notebook.

Although we separate the garbage at my house, my neighbor doesn't

Even though some people don't save energy, others do
They are not having taken care of the rivers; however, they talk about taking care of the trees
Even though the trees are scarce, people don't stop cutting them 
down

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Many people talk about taking care of the planet, even though their house is full of wooden furniture
2. Click on the screenshot and watch the video, it’s about how to contrast ideas. Take note of the different
words and phrases in your notebook.

3. Read the following paragraph and identify the ideas it contrasts.

Even though Arizona and Rhode Island are both states of the
U.S., they are strikingly different in many ways. For
example, the physical size of each state is different.
Arizona is large, having an area of 114,000 square miles,
whereas Rhode Island is smaller, having an area of only 1,214
 square miles. Another difference is in the size of the
population of each state, Arizona has about four million
people living in it, but Rhode Island has less than one
million. The two states also differ in the kinds of natural
environments that each has. For example, Arizona is a very
dry state, consisting of large desert areas that do not
receive much rainfall every year, however, Rhode Island is
located in a temperate zone and receives an average of 44
inches of rain per year. In addition, while Arizona is a
landlocked state and thus has no seashore, Rhode Island lies
on the Atlantic Ocean and has a significant coastline.

During task:

4. Work in the same pairs, now contrast these ideas in different ways:

 It was raining. We went to the beach.

 He was rich. He was unhappy.
 They live in a small house without a garden. They have a large dog.
 The dog looks friendly. The dog bites people sometimes.
 She was tired. She cooked dinner.
 The wine was bad. The food was excellent.

B. Choose ‘however’, ‘although’ or ‘despite’:

 1. ___________ the rain, we still went to the park.

 2. ___________ it was raining; we still went to the park.
 3. It was raining. ___________, we still went to the park.
 4. John bought the watch, ___________ the fact that it was expensive.
 5. John bough the watch. ___________, it was expensive.
 6. ___________ it was expensive, John bought the watch.
 7. I finished the homework. It, ___________, wasn’t easy.
 8. I finished the homework, ___________ it wasn’t easy.
 9. ___________ the fact that it wasn’t easy, I finished the homework.
 10. She went for a long walk, ___________ being cold.
 11. ___________ she was cold, she went for a long walk.
 12. She was cold. She went for a long walk, ___________.
 13. The restaurant has a good reputation. ___________, the food was terrible.
 14. ___________ the restaurant’s good reputation, the food was terrible.
 15. ___________ the restaurant has a good reputation, the food was terrible.
Post task:
C. Think about your likes and dislikes and then contrast them, write a new entry in your blog,
support your ideas with an image. Show them to your teacher next class.

D. For some further practice on contrasting ideas visit:

https://www.espressoenglish.net/linking-words-contrasting-ideas/
http://www.perfect-english-grammar.com/linking-words-contrast-exercise-1.html
http://www.tolearnenglish.com/exercises/exercise-english-2/exercise-english-108737.php

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Many people talk about taking care of the planet, even though their house is full of wooden furniture
There are some places that turn the lights on even though there's enough natural light

Hacía mucho sol afuera. Sin embargo, encendieron las luces.

It was very sunny outside. However, they turned on the

lights.
It was very sunny out. Nevertheless, they turned on the lights.

Plastic straws are still used, yet restaurants give them
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I use cloth napkins while others use paper napkins