Usage of “Although” & “Because” in Sentence
Last year Paul and Joanne had a holiday by the sea. It rained a lot, but they enjoyed themselves. You can say:
Although it rained a lot, they enjoyed themselves. (= It rained a lot, but they . . . )
After although we use a subject + verb:
Examples
Although it rained a lot, we enjoyed our holiday.
I didn’t get the job although I had the necessary qualifications.
Compare the meaning of although and because:
We went out although it was raining.
We didn’t go out because it was raining.
In Spite of & Despite Examples
After in spite of or despite, we use a noun, a pronoun (this/that/what etc.) or –ing:
Example
In spite of the rain, we enjoyed our holiday.
I didn’t get the job in spite of having the necessary qualifications.
She wasn’t well, but in spite of this she went to work.
In spite of what I said yesterday, I still love you.
Despite is the same as in spite of. We say in spite of, but despite (without of):
- She wasn’t well, but despite this she went to work. (not despite of this)
Model Sentences of “In Spite of” & “Because of”
Compare in spite of and because of:
We went out in spite of the rain. (or . . . despite the rain.)
We didn’t go out because of the rain.
Although / In Spite of / Despite Examples
Compare although and in spite of/despite:
Although the traffic was bad, we arrived on time.
In spite of the traffic, we arrived on time. (not In spite of the traffic was bad)
I couldn’t sleep although I was very tired.
I couldn’t sleep despite being very tired. (not despite I was tired)
Though / Although / Even Though Sentences
Sometimes we use though instead of although:
- I didn’t get the job though I had the necessary qualifications.
Even though (but not ‘even’ alone) is a stronger form of although:
- Even though I was really tired, I couldn’t sleep. (not even I was really tired . . . )
A. Complete the sentences with although/in spite of/because/because of.
- _________ it rained a lot, we enjoyed our holiday.
- _________ all our careful plans, a lot of things went wrong.
- _________ we’d planned everything carefully, a lot of things went wrong.
- I went home early _________ I was feeling unwell.
- She only accepted the job __________ the salary, which was very high.
- I went to work the next day __________ I was still feeling unwell.
- She accepted the job _________ the salary, which was rather low.
- I managed to get to sleep _________ there was a lot of noise.
- I couldn’t get to sleep __________ the noise.
B. Use your own ideas to complete the following sentences:
- He passed the exam although _______________________________________________________________________________
- He passed the exams because _______________________________________________________________________________
- I didn’t eat anything although _______________________________________________________________________________
- I didn’t eat anything in spite of _______________________________________________________________________________