Linking words and expressions to show contrast

Notes:

- "but" is more informal than "however". You can use "however" at the beginning of a sentence, but you can’t use "but" at the beginning of a sentence (in written English)

- we can use "although" at the beginning or in the middle of a sentence. It is used in front of a clause (a clause has at least a subject and a verb that agrees with the subject)

- be careful not to use “despite of” – that is incorrect; also note that “in spite of” is 3 separate words

- “even though” has the same grammar as “although”: it is just a little bit stronger

- a variation of “even though” is “even if”

- “much as” is a very strong form of “although” – another variation of it is “however much”

- “no matter” is normally followed by “how” and an adjective (“no matter how harmful”)

- if you want to use “as” for contrast, you need to an adjective before it (“harmful as it is”)