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Different ways of expressing concession or contrast

November 23rd, 2011 in Improve English

There are different ways of expressing concession or contrast. Study the following sentences.

Although he is rich, he is unhappy.

The same idea can be expressed in very many ways.

Rich though he is, he is unhappy.

Rich as he is, he is unhappy.

He is rich; all the same he is unhappy.

He is rich; at the same time he is not happy.

He is rich; nonetheless he is unhappy.

He is rich indeed, but he is unhappy.

He is unhappy in spite of being rich.

He is rich; however, he is unhappy.

Exercise

Rewrite the following sentence in as many ways as you can.

Although the prince was strong, he could not lift the bow.

Answers

Strong though he was, the prince could not lift the bow.

Strong as he was, the prince could not lift the bow.

The prince was strong; all the same he could not lift the bow.

The prince was strong; at the same time he could not lift the bow.

The prince was strong; nonetheless he could not lift the bow.

The prince was strong but he could not lift the bow.

In spite of being strong the prince could not lift the bow.

The prince was strong; however, he could not lift the bow.