Class objectives
- Ranting and raving for one minute without stopping.
- Ranting about marriage for 3 minutes
- Marriage vocabulary & idioms knowledge check
- Cost Benefit Analysis of marriage issues
- Reading & ordering a Pros & Cons essay
- Using linking words to connect contrasting ideas in essays: despite & whereas
- Writing a Pros & Cons essay (homework)
Marriage statistics & differences around the world
Do a cost benefits analysis of:
- Age difference
- Getting married multiple times
- Age of marriage
- Arranged marriage
- Blind date
- Love at first sight
- having 4 wives or husbands (polygamy)/monogamy (single partner)
- Marriage vows
- Welfare & financial benefits of marriage
- Being common-law partners
Using contrasting linking words quizzes & explanations:
Whereas
We use the conjunction whereas to indicate a contrast between two facts or ideas:
He loves foreign holidays, whereas his wife prefers to stay at home.
Whereas most new PCs have several USB slots, older ones often only had one.
Whereas means the same as while in sentences expressing contrasts. It does not mean the same as while when while refers to time:
The south has a hot, dry climate, whereas/while the north has a milder, wetter climate.
The secretary took care of my appointments while I was away from the office.
Not: …
whereas I was away from the office.
In spite of and despite
In spite of and despite are prepositional expressions.
In spite of and despite have a similar meaning to although or even though. They express a contrast between two things. They are both more common in writing than in speaking. Despite is a little more formal than in spite of.
We usually use in spite of and despite with a noun:
He got the job in spite of his prison record.
[recession is a time when the economy of a country is not good]
John’s company is doing extremely well despite the recession.
We can also use in spite of and despite with –ing:
He was very fast in spite of being terribly overweight.
They arrived late despite leaving in plenty of time.
We don’t use a that-clause after in spite of or despite. We use in spite of the fact that or despite the fact that:
When they arrived at Malaga it was hot, in spite of the fact that it was only the end of April.
Not: …
in spite of that it was only the end of April
In spite of is written as three separate words. We never use of with despite:
They enjoyed the rides in spite of the long queues. (or … despite the long queues.)
Not: …
inspite the long queuesor …despite of the long queues.
Today’s words:
rant verb [ I ]
to speak or shout in a loud, uncontrolled, or angry way, often saying confused or silly things:
MarkESOL 