Although, despite, whereas, so that, in order to

What's in the lesson

1. 1Warm-up
2. 2Reading: learning to swim at fortyReading comprehension
3. 3What does it mean?Grammar exercise
4. 4What comes next?Grammar exercise
5. 5Contrast and purposeGrammar rule
6. 6Choose the right wordGrammar exercise
7. 7Say it another wayGrammar exercise
8. 8Build the sentencesGrammar exercise
9. 9Say it naturallySpeaking practice
10. 10Against the oddsSpeaking practice
11. 11About youGrammar exercise
12. 12Wrap-up

Homework

1. 1Homework: the little caféGrammar exercise
2. 2Homework: which is right?Grammar exercise
3. 3Homework: a reviewDiscussion

Two slides from the lesson

Warm-up

A few questions about you before we start.

1. Is there anything you never learned to do as a child, like swimming or riding a bike?
2. What is the hardest thing you have learned as an adult?
3. Do you prefer learning with a teacher or teaching yourself? Why?

Grammar rule

Contrast and purpose

Contrast

Words	What follows	Example
although / though / even though (even though = a stronger surprise)	a clause	Although the movie was long, nobody got bored.
despite / in spite of	a noun, -ing, or the fact that + clause	Despite the snow, the trains kept running. In spite of being the youngest, she was the team captain. Despite the fact that he lives next door, I rarely see him.
while / whereas (two different facts)	a clause	My grandmother loves texting, whereas my grandfather won't touch a phone.
however / nevertheless (at the start of a new sentence, with a comma)	a sentence	The apartment was small. However, the location was perfect.
though (at the end; informal)	—	The food was cold. The waiter was really nice, though.

Purpose

Words	What follows	Example
to / in order to / so as to	a base verb	We planted trees along the fence in order to get more shade.
in order not to / so as not to	a base verb	He took off his shoes so as not to get the carpet dirty.
so that	a clause, often with can, could, will or would	Let's book a big table so that everyone can sit together.
for	a noun	We went out for pizza.

despite has no of; in spite of has of. Neither is followed by a clause on its own: not despite it was snowing (say despite the snow, or although it was snowing). Not for to buy: say to buy. while also has a time meaning (while I was cooking), so in writing, whereas is the clearer word for two different facts.