Clauses of contrast, concession and purpose

Meaning Form

Clauses of contrast • While some people think his

comedy is funny, others find
We usually use "while", whilst and
him offensive.
"whereas" when we talk about two events
• He must be about 60, whereas
and want to separate them from each
his wife looks about 30.
other.
• Whilst we were sitting down to
dinner, the phone rang.
We also use "while" in the meaning of "at
the same time". In this case, "while" is
equal to "whilst". It is followed by a noun,
a gerund or a pronoun.

Clauses of purpose • He trained a lot, so that he

may win this competition.
To express purpose, "so that" and "in
• We must save money so as
order to" are often used.
not to take out a loan at the
end of the month.
We can use "so as not to" / "in order not • People must recycle plastic in
to" to express negative purpose. It is
order not to pollute the
followed by an infinitive. After "so that",
planet.
we can use modal verbs.

Clauses of concession • You are not allowed to go out

We can use adverbials such as "in spite
of", "despite", "however", "on the other
hand" and "though" to express
concession.
"In spite of", "despite" can be followed by
a noun, a gerund or a pronoun.
Although, though, even though are used at
the beginning or in the middle of the
sentence.
Though can go at the end of the second
phrase, which is most common in spoken
English.
after 10 pm; however, if your
brother is with you, then you
can.
• I like Mary as a friend, on the
other hand, she is very
callous.
• Despite the rain, he arrived on
time.
• In spite of the fact that her
elbow ached, Mary decided
not to leave the tennis court.
• Bob paid the bill, despite
existing financial constraints.
• Bob has a lot of financial
constraints. He paid the bill,
though.