Althoughandthoughmeaning ‘in spite of’
Althoughandthoughboth mean ‘in spite of something’. They are subordinating conjunctions. This means that the clause whichthey introduce is a subordinate clause,which needs a main clauseto make it complete:
[main clause]Everyone enjoyed the trip to the finalalthough[subordinate clause]we lost the match!
[subordinate clause]Thoughit was rainy,[main clause]we put on our jackets and went for a walk.
Thoughis more common thanalthoughin general and it is much more common thanalthoughin speaking. For emphasis, we often useevenwiththough(but not withalthough).
When thethough/althoughclause comes before the main clause, we usually put a comma at the end of the clause. When the main clause comes first, we don’t need to use a comma:
Even thoughI earn a lot of money every month, I never seem to have any to spare!
I still feel hungryeven thoughI had a big lunch.
See also:
Even if
Althoughandthoughwith-ingclauses
Informal situations,we can usealthoughandthoughto introduce an-ingclause:
[a teacher talking about a student]
Peter,although workingharder this term, still needs to put more work into mathematics.
[a doctor talking about a patient]
The patient,though gettingstronger, is still not well enough to come off his medication.
Althoughandthoughwith reduced clauses
In formal speaking or writing, we can usealthough, thoughandeven thoughtointroducea clause without a verb (a reduced clause):
Raymond,although very interested, didn’t show any emotion when she invited him to go for a walk.
[referring to a car]
Though more expensive, the new model is safer and more efficient.
Althoughandthoughmeaning ‘but’
When thealthough/thoughclause comes after a main clause, it can alsomean ‘but it is also truethat …’:
Karen is coming to stay next weekalthoughI’m not sure what day she is coming.
We didn’t make any profitthoughnobody knows why.
Thoughmeaning ‘however’
Especially in speaking, we can usethough(but notalthoughoreven though) with a meaning similar tohoweverornevertheless. In these cases, we usually put it at the end of a clause:
A:You have six hours in the airport between flights!
B:Idon’t mind,though.I have lots of work to do. I’ll just bring my laptop with me.
A:It’s expensive.
B:It’s nice,though.
A:Yeah, I think I’ll buy it.
As though
As thoughhas a meaning very similar toas if. As ifismuch more common thanas though:
You lookas though/as ifyou have seen a ghost!
He looksas though/as ifhe hasn’t slept.