‘DESPITE’, ‘IN SPITE OF’, ‘ALTHOUGH’, ‘THOUGH’ AND ‘EVEN THOUGH’

They all serve to record something that is surprising or unexpected. But the difference in usage is that although,
though and even though are all conjunctions, whilst in spite of and despite are both prepositions. So usage requires:

• in spite of + noun
• although + clause
• despite + noun
• though + clause
• even though + clause

Although and though can be used in the same way. Though is perhaps more common in informal speech and writing,
whereas although can be used in a wide variety of styles. Compare:

• 'Our new neighbours are quite nice, though their dog is a bit of a nuisance.'
• 'She insisted on keeping her coat on, although it was extremely warm in the house as the central heating
was on.'
• 'Although she was commended for completing the Millennium Dome project on time and within budget,
management felt that it was now time for a new person with different talents to take over.'

Though is often used with even in order to give emphasis:

• 'I managed to get good results in my exams, even though I went out four times a week when I was
supposed to be revising.'

Whilst despite might be thought more formal than in spite of - it is, after all, one word rather than three - there is
really very little difference in usage between the two:

• 'Despite the appalling weather, they succeeded in walking to the top of Ben Nevis.'
• 'They decided to get married in spite of the huge differences in their ages.'

So, to summarise: despite and although: similar meanings, but different syntax required. Compare:

• 'Although it was raining heavily, we finished the game of football.'

• 'We finished the game of football in spite of the heavy rain.'
• 'Despite his strong Welsh accent, we understood most of what he was saying.'
• 'Even though he had a strong Welsh accent, we understood most of what he was saying.'

One further word. Although, despite and in spite of are normally used as prepositions, they can also be used in
adverbial constructions with -ing, thus:

• 'I managed to pass my exams, despite going out four times a week during the revision period.'
• 'In spite of feeling terribly sick, I went to work every day that week.'
• 'Despite being severely handicapped, he managed to complete the race.'

'BECAUSE', 'AS', 'SINCE' AND 'FOR'

The present perfect is often used with since and for to denote periods of time up to the present. (Note that we do
not use present perfect with expressions that refer to a time period that has finished, i.e. 'last week' or 'the day
before yesterday'. Here the simple past is used: 'I went to the cinema three times last week.')
If you use since with the present perfect or present perfect continuous, you are signalling when something started. If
you use for, you are signalling how long something has been going on. Compare:
  'She has been living in Holland since the summer of 1992.'
 'She has been living in Holland for the last nine years.'

That is one use of since and for.

But since and for can also be used in a similar way to as and because to give the reason for an action or a situation.
However, there are important differences between them.

Because is used when the reason is the most important part of the sentence or utterance. The because clause
usually comes at the end:

 'I went to Spain last summer because I wanted the guarantee of sunshine on every day of my holiday.'

As and since are used when the reason is already well known and is therefore usually less important.
The as or since clause is usually placed at the beginning of the sentence:

 'As the performance had already started, we went up to the balcony and occupied some empty seats there.'
 'Since John had already eaten, I made do with a sandwich.'

For suggests that the reason is given as an afterthought. It is never placed at the beginning of the sentence and is
more characteristic of written, rather than spoken English:

 'I decided to stop the work I was doing - for it was very late and I wanted to go to bed.'

'BESIDE', 'BESIDES' AND 'TOWARD' AND 'TOWARDS'

It is quite important not to confuse them, for they are different in meaning and usage.
beside
Beside is a preposition, similar in meaning to 'next to', 'at the side of' or 'by':

 'Where is the apple orchard?' 'It’s right beside the main road. You can’t miss it!'
 'We were lying beside the pool when the phone rang. It was his boss wanting to know why he wasn’t at
work.'

It is often used with verbs such as 'standing', 'sitting', 'lying'. It is also used in the expression beside the point when
referring to something that is not relevant to the subject under discussion:

 'Modern art isn’t really art at all!' 'That’s beside the point when so many young people respond to it with
such interest. They regard it as art.'

Besides is a preposition, meaning 'in addition to', 'as well as' or 'apart from':

 'What exam subjects are you taking besides English and maths?'
 'Were there any boys at the party besides Matt and Dillon?'
It can also introduce a participial phrase:

 'Besides bruising his face, he cut his lip and bloodied his nose.'

Besides also functions as an adverb, meaning 'as well', 'furthermore' or 'anyway'. It is often used to introduce an
afterthought. Consider these examples:
  'It’s too late to start a round of golf now. We shall never finish before dark. Besides, it’s starting to rain.'
 'He doesn’t have very much money and he doesn’t have very many prospects. Besides, he’s far too young to
think of getting married.'

What about towards and toward? One of my own students was worried that there might be similar pitfalls in store
for her when using these prepositions. Well, I can re-assure all of you that these prepositions can be used quite
interchangeably and that there is no difference in meaning. The only slight difference in usage is that toward is
perhaps more characteristic of American English and towards more usual in British English. Toward or
towards means 'in the direction of':

 'Can you see that light over there?' 'I think it’s coming towards us.'
 'There are always more mosquitoes in the air toward evening. Have you noticed?'

'DUE TO', 'OWING TO', ON ACCOUNT OF' AND 'BECAUSE OF'

Due to and owing to are similar in meaning to on account of and because of. They are all prepositions used with
noun phrases and are often used interchangeably. They indicate that something happened as a result of something
or introduce the reason for something happening:

 'He was kept in after school due to/owing to his bad behaviour.' = He was kept in after school on account
of/because of his bad behaviour.
 'Due to/owing to a broken propeller, the new cruise liner returned immediately to port.' = 'The new cruise
liner returned immediately to port because of/on account of a broken propeller.'

It used to be thought that it was incorrect to use due to in this way, but modern usage shows no hesitation in using
these expressions interchangeably.

Note that these prepositions are sometimes used in cleft structures with it and the verb to be:

 'It is due to/on account of all his hard work over the winter months that he has passed the exam with such a
good grade.'
 'It was owing to/because of traffic congestion on the road leading to the airport that I missed my flight.'

The noun phrases which these prepositions introduce are often rather formal and it may be more natural to
use because in informal, conversational English. But remember that because is a conjunction and must therefore be
used to introduce a subordinate clause of reason:

 'We had to give up the idea of a boat trip because it started to pour with rain.'
 'Owing to the heavy rain, we had to give up the idea of a boat trip.'

In this final owing to example, there is a mismatch of formal and colloquial styles and it does not sound quite right. In
the following examples, however, the prepositional phrase might be preferred as it is more succinct:

 'Why are you so late?' 'On account of the traffic. Incredibly heavy!'
 'Why are you so late?' 'Because the traffic was so incredibly heavy on the road into London. '

‘AS’ AND ‘LIKE’

As and like are used in a number of different ways and can be different parts of speech.

'as' and 'like' - prepositions

As refers to something or someone's appearance or function. Consider the following examples:

 'Before I became a teacher I worked as a waiter.'

 'I'm going to the fancy dress party as Superman.'
 'The sea can be used as a source of energy.'

The expression 'I've been working as a dog' sounds unusual because it suggests that you were doing
the work of a dog!

Like has the meaning 'similar to' and is used when comparing things. Look at these examples:

 'I’ve been working like a dog.'

 'She looks a bit like her brother.'
 'Just like you, I’m always a bit wary of large dogs.'

The expression 'I've been working like a dog' is idiomatic and means that you have been working very
hard. Note that we can use adverbs of degree, such as just, very, quite, not much, not at all, a bit,
etc, to modify like:

 'He’s very serious – not at all like his father, perhaps more like his mother at times.

'as' and 'like' - conjunctions

As and like can also be used as conjunctions:

As means 'in the same way that'. Consider the following:

 'I always drink tea without milk, just as they do on the continent.'
 'Try to keep your balance on the tightrope, as I do, by spreading out your fingers like this.'
 'The first ten days of July were very wet this year, as they were last year and the year before.'

In informal English, like is used in the same way. This is particularly common in American English.
Consider the following:

 'Nobody else would look after you like I do, baby!'

 'She needs the money, like I do, so she works in a bar in the evenings.'
 'I hope you’re not going to be sick again, like you were when we went to Brighton.