Clauses of Concession.

Although/ even though/ though + clause

Despite/ In spite of + Noun/ Ing form

Despite/ In spite of the fact + that + Clause

While/ whereas/ but/ on the other hand/ yet + clause

Nevertheless/ However + clause

However/ no matter how + adjective/ adverb + Subject + may + verb

Whatever/ No matter what + clause

Adjective / Adverb + as + Subject + Verb

1. Underline the correct item:

1) However/ Although hard he studies, he doesn’t get good marks.

2) He is intelligent, whereas/ despite his brother is dumb.

3) Despite/ While going on a diet, she put on five kilos.

4) Clever whereas/ as he is, he failed the test.

5) Even though/ Despite he had little money, he insisted on paying for the meal.

6) In spite of/ Whatever you say, I won’t believe you.

7) I invited them. They didn’t come, although/ though.

8) He speaks English fluently, whereas/ even though his French is poor.

9) Persuasive though/ but he may be, I won’t change my mind.

10) Even though/ Despite we’re good friends, we don’t meet very often.

 

2. Fill in the gaps with appropriate word or expression:

 

Rodney is 30 and single. 1)___ having a good job and lots of friends, he is still lonely. He can’t find a girlfriend, 2)____ hard he tries. 3) ____ his friend Bill has plenty of girlfriends. Handsome 4)____ Rodney is, he is very shy. Last week, Rodney joined Datemate, a computer dating agency. They arranged for him to meet a girl named Sally. She wasn’t very attractive, 5) ____ she was very interesting. 6) ____ she said, Rodney was fascinated. 7)_____ Rodney liked Sally, the feeling was not mutual. Hard 8)____ he tried, Sally never smiled or laughed

3. Join two sentences using the appropriate word phrase:

 

1) The weather was bad. The ship departed.

2) She had money for the house. She didn’t buy it.

3) He is sixty years old. He still goes jogging.

4) Tom arrived early. He couldn’t get tickets for the performance.

5) The program was boring. I continued to watch it.

6) I have a lot of work to do. I will come to your party.

7) He has a luxurious house. He has few friends.

8) We’ve spent a lot of money on the reform. It didn’t work.

9) She is very beautiful. She isn’t very intelligent.

10) I’ve read a lot of books on the subject. I haven’t found the answer to this question.

 

4. Fill in the gaps with appropriate words:

 

1) _____,she couldn’t get the answer.

2) _______ you believe, I am innocent.

3) He is on pension, while his wife _____

4) Despite working hard, ______

5) Even though he is 70, _____

6) _______ you offer me, I will never accept your proposal.

7) Happy though he ____, he is actually very lonely.

8) I enjoy working on my computer, whereas my wife _____

9) She didn’t take the job, ________

10) _______, we were still half an hour late.

 

5. Rephrase the sentences using the word in bold:

 

1) Although my mother is from Pskov, I’ve never been there.

Fact Despite _________ is from Pskov, I’ve never been there.

2) It sounds easy, but it’s really rather difficult.

Though Easy ____ it’s rather difficult.

3) In spite of having read a lot of books, he is narrow-minded.

Read Although _______ he is narrow-minded.

4) However loudly you shout, they won’t hear you.

How No ______, they won’t hear you.

5) Say what you like; we won’t believe you.

Say Whatever ______, we won’t believe you.

6) He is a coach but he can’t swim.

Being In ________ a coach, he can’t swim.

7) In spite of the program finishing very late, we watched it to the end.

Though Even _____ very late, we watched it to the end.

8) Mary spent a year in Boston but she can’t speak English.

Fact In spite _____ a year in Boston, Mary can’t speak English.

9) He tried hard, but he couldn’t understand the system.

As Hard _____. He couldn’t understand the system.

10) She did her best. She didn’t win the contest.

Yet She _____ didn’t win the contest.

 

6. Translate the following sentences:

1) Even if the IMF mission makes a positive recommendation to the Fund’s board, it could take another month before any more loan money is released.

2) Although the minister was to have presented his new economic program Wednesday, the president asked members of parliament to postpone any discussion of it.

3) Although the FBI records shed little light on the assassination (or the motives behind it) they do not contain some interesting, sometimes amusing, details of how the Bureau investigated the case.

4) The Japanese government has demanded an explanation from the United States, although the foreign minister said that it would not lodge a formal protest.

5) Although the State Secretary defended himself convincingly against claims that he was unsympathetic to the democratic regime, The CIA is widely believed to have supported the coup.

6) It was a bad year for the President, but not really a bad year for America, but part of the trouble, no matter how strange it is, is that we have been confusing the nation with the President.

7) The assumption is that Britain may, no matter how unlikely it seems, be exposed to the kind of hostilities which would make necessary the services of a civil defence organization.

8) Somehow the impression has been allowed to get about that, while keen competition can be afforded during times of prosperity, it is a costly expendable luxury when growth slows and unemployment rises.

9) “Washington would allow other nations to gainsay its foreign policy even though they contributed nothing and were often dependent on the US for their own security”, the President said.

10) Existing staff have welcomed the move to four-year degrees, but some are concerned about staffing during the transition period.

11) While universities were hiring for the long-term increase of 15,000 students some staff members were concerned that they may be required to take on more teaching responsibilities during the transition.

12) Each university has the freedom to decide its own curriculum, but the overall trend is toward a more multidisciplinary approach in which students will be required to take more general education subjects.

13) Despite the many challenges, the Chinese educationalists believe Hong Kong was making the right changes.

14) While the new program will raise the standards of Russian business education, they won’t be able to stem the tide of students leaving to study abroad.

15) Modern programs won’t be able to reduce the outflow of students, but they will create new standards, which is important for the Russian market.

16) The new program of business education was designed for people with no work experience, although a minimum 10-week internship at one of the companies is a mandatory part of the program.

17) “Giving young black people a stake in America is our most pressing problem, but nobody shouts much about that,” the journalist states.

18) A woman’s earning power, while hardly the first thing that men look for, has become a bigger draw nowadays.