Although

“Although” is a subordinating conjunction.  It is used before a subject to introduce an idea which contrasts with the main clause of a sentence. The main clause usually indicates something unexpected or surprising. 

Like this:

“Although I studied really hard, I didn’t pass the test.”

“Although he is rich, he isn’t happy.”

Or like this:

“I didn’t pass the test, although I studied really hard.”

“He isn’t happy, although he is rich.”

Despite

Despite is a preposition.  It is used before a noun or pronoun to express a contrasting idea.  

Like this:

“Despite his money he isn’t happy.”

“Despite his high grades, he didn’t pass the class.”

“We went out despite the rain.”

“Despite” is often used before a gerund (which is a sort of noun).  

Like this:

“Despite having money he isn’t happy.”

“Despite having high grades, he didn’t pass the test.”

In Spite Of

“In spite of” is used the same as as “despite.”  Just remember that you cannot use “despite of”.

This one is tricky, so I’m going to start by quoting Michael Swan:

“The is used with a number of rather general expressions referring to our physical environment – the world around us and its climate.  The suggests that everybody is familiar with what we are talking about.”

Do you get what he means?  This is why we refer to “the mountains” and why we say “I’m going to spend a lot of time at the beach this summer” even if we aren’t talking about specific mountains or a specific beach.

Here are a few general guidelines:

Natural Landforms and Settings:

We use “the” with natural landforms and settings when referring to them in a general sense. For instance:

• “I love spending time in the mountains.”
• “We went for a walk along the beach.”
• “Birds are abundant in the forest.”

Again, I’m not talking about any specific mountains, any specific beach or any specific forest.

Geographical and Recreational Contexts

When these natural environments are discussed in terms of their geographical or recreational significance, “the” is used to denote the typical features associated with them:

• “The desert can be really dangerous for hikers.”
• “Tourists flock to the beach during summer.”
• “The countryside offers a peaceful retreat from city life.”

Same as above – I’m not talking about any specific desert, any specific beach or any specific countryside.

My students are often puzzled about when to call something “electric” (like “electric car”) vs when to call something “electronic” (like “electronic dictionary”).  The difference is subtle, but basically it amounts to this:

Electric: This term is used for devices or systems that use electricity to perform a basic function. For example, an “electric car” uses electricity to power its motor and move the vehicle, and an “electric heater” converts electrical energy into heat. An “electric tea kettle” uses electrical energy to boil water.

Electronic: This term is used for devices or systems that use electricity to control, process, or transmit information. These devices usually involve components like microchips, transistors, or circuits that manage electrical signals. For example, an “electronic dictionary” processes and displays digital information, and an “electronic watch” uses electronic circuits to keep and display the time.  I recently read an article about “electronic livestock tags” that keep track of the location of cows and report that information back to farmers.  There is a popular TOEFL practice question about “electronic medical records” that doctors use to store and transmit information about patients.

Do you get what I mean?

In summary, use “electric” for devices powered by electricity to perform physical tasks and “electronic” for devices that process information using electrical circuits.

And, yes, there are weird exceptions.  Don’t ask me why we refer to “electronic cigarettes.”  That doesn’t make sense to me.

Collocations can seem pretty arbitrary.  Here’s one that people mess up all the time in TOEFL essays.

When talking about successfully doing something, you should write:

• “Peter succeeded in passing his test.”
• “After many weeks, he succeeded in finding an apartment in New York.”

You should not write:

• “Peter succeeded to pass his test.”
• “After many weeks, he succeeded to find an apartment in New York.”

Here’s another. You should write:

• “Next year Peter will succeed in passing his test”
• “Hopefully next year he will succeed in finding an apartment in New York.”

And you should not write:

• “Next year peter will succeed to pass his test”
• “Hopefully next year he will succeed to find an apartment in New York.”

Clear?

English is hard. 

Just a very quick article today to address a fairly common error in TOEFL essays.  

When writing about decades you don’t need an apostrophe.   Just write:

• There were a lot of wild parties in the 1920s.
• My parents got married in the 1960s.

Don’t stick an apostrophe in there.  Don’t write:

• There were a lot of wild parties in the 1920’s.
• My parents got married in the 1960’s.

Easy, right?

My TOEFL students mix up these three words all the time!  Here’s what you need to know:

“Resident” = a person.  For example:

• “The residents of this city are really happy to live here.”
• “There were enough fireplaces for about 15 residents.”
• “Michael is a resident of Halifax.”

“Residence” = a place where someone lives (like a home). For example:

• “The houses in the Chaco Canyon were probably residences.”
• “There are over five thousand residences in downtown Seattle.”

“Residential” = an adjective with a meaning like “related to residences.”  For example:

• “They look like the residential buildings in New Mexico.”
• “This is a residential neighborhood.”

This one is tricky both for students and for teachers (to explain) but I see people misuse “decline” and “reduce” in their TOEFL essays all the time.  Here’s what you should note:

I can use “reduce” as a transitive verb to mean something like “make smaller”

• The whales reduced the population of sea otters.
• The hunters reduced the population of sea cows.
• To prevent a disaster in my apartment I reduced the amount of clutter.

In this case the subject of the sentence made the following things smaller:  the population of sea otters, the population of sea cows, the amount of clutter.

I can’t use “decline” as a transitive verb to mean “make smaller.”  I cannot say:

• The whales declined the population of sea otters.
• The hunters declined the population of sea otters.
• I declined the amount of clutter.

When talking about making something smaller, I can only use “decline” as an intransitive verb.  Like this:

• The population of sea otters declined.
• The population of sea cows declined.
• The amount of clutter declined.

It isn’t really relevant, but when I use “declined” as a transitive verb it means “refused” or “turned down.”  As in:

• I declined the job transfer. (I refused the job offer)

Students often mix up “few” and “a few” in their TOEFL essays and discussion responses.  Here’s what you should know:

“A few” means something like “some.”  You can’t use it when you are talking about a lot of something, but it does not necessarily mean “not many.”  Use it like this:

• “A few students passed the test” = some students passed the test (but not a lot of ideas)
• “I need a few ideas about how to negotiate a better contract” = I need some ideas about how to negotiate a better contract (but not a lot of ideas)
• “I saw a few people on my way to the store” = I saw a some people on my way to the store (but not a lot of people)

Just use “a few” when you are talking about “some” of something.  Don’t use it to emphasize that you are talking about “not many” of something.

“Few” means something like “not many”.  Use it when you want to emphasize that you are talking about “not many” of something.  Like this:

• “Few students passed the test” = not many students passed the test
• “I have few ideas about how to negotiate a better contract” = I don’t have many ideas about how to negotiate a better contract
• “I saw few people on my way to the store” = I didn’t see many people on my way to the store

Can you see the difference?  The correct wording depends on what you want to emphasize.

Students often misuse “in contrast” and “on the contrary.”  This article will explain how they can be used correctly.

In Contrast

This is the easy one.  Use “in contrast” to compare two dissimilar things or statements.  Like:

Harold likes cats.  In contrast, Simon likes dogs.

or:

The Hulk uses his strength to solve problems.  In contrast, Bruce Banner uses his intelligence.

or:

Most people prefer to study in groups.  In contrast, I like to study alone.

“In contrast” functions a lot like “however” in these cases.  To my eye, “however” is probably more natural. 

On the Contrary

This one is tricky.  “On the contrary” is not used to compare two things or statements.  Instead, it is used to emphasize an aspect of a single thing or statement.  We use “on the contrary” to express something like “actually, here’s what is true.”  Like:

I’m not tired.  On the contrary, I’m full of energy.

or

Harold didn’t fail his test.  On the contrary, he got the highest score in the class.”

or

Thor isn’t weak.  On the contrary, he is extremely strong.

Do you see what I did there?  I stated something which isn’t true.  I then emphasized my point by using “on the contrary” and stating that something else is  true.

By Contrast

Many people use “by contrast” instead of “in contrast.”  Some people might argue that there is some difference between these two phrases.  I don’t think there is.  I think they can be used interchangeably.