Unit 7: ALTHOUGH / EVEN THOUGH / DESPITE / IN SPITE OF


1 Complete the report by putting in the correct linking words. There is always more than one
possible answer.

(0) Although the ground was very wet, it was decided to go ahead with United’s game against City.
United were 1-0 winners (1) ___________________________ not playing very well. (2)
______________________ the poor conditions, City played some attractive football, (3)
___________________________ they just couldn’t score. (4) ___________________________ they lost,
their fans gave them a big cheer.


2 Join each pair of sentences. Be careful where you put the words in brackets.

Nick used to smoke. He seems to be in good health. (although)

Although Nick used to smoke, he seems to be in good health.

1 I couldn’t sleep. I was tired. (despite)

_______________________________________________________________________________________

2 Trevor didn’t notice the sign. It was right in front of him. (even though)

_______________________________________________________________________________________

3 Matthew doesn’t know any French. It was one of his school subjects. (although)

_______________________________________________________________________________________

4 Henry’s a millionaire. He hates spending money. (despite)

_______________________________________________________________________________________

5 We couldn’t get tickets. We queued for an hour. (in spite of)

_______________________________________________________________________________________


Unit 7: PASSIVE


1 Choose the correct verb forms in this news report about a storm.

Millions of pounds’ worth of damage (0) [DEL: has caused :DEL] /has been caused by a storm which 1)
swept/was swept across the north of England last night. The River Ribble (2) burst/was burst its
banks after heavy rain. Many people (3) rescued/were rescued from the floods by fire-fighters, who
4) received/were received hundreds of calls for help. Wind speeds (5) reached/were reached ninety
miles an hour in some places. Roads (6) blocked/were blocked by fallen trees, and electricity lines
brought/were brought down, leaving thousands of homes without electricity. `Everything possible is
doing/is being done to get things back to normal,’ a spokesman (9) said/was said.


2 You are telling a friend some news. Use the notes and complete the second sentence. Sometimes you
need to use the active and sometimes the passive.

(Past Simple: Claire / go / to Florida / last month)

You remember Claire? She went to Florida last month.

1 (Present Perfect: send / our luggage / to Australia)

Bad news about our luggage. It _________________________________________________________

2 (Past Simple: Claude Jennings / win / the quiz competition)

Did you hear about the quiz competition? It ____________________________________________________

3 (Present Perfect: a bull / attack / David)

Have you heard about David? He’s _________________________________________________________

4 (Present Continuous: build / the house)

Trevor and Laura have bought a house. It’s still _________________________________________________

5 (Present Simple: Andrew / like / Jessica)

Did I tell you about Andrew? He _________________________________________________________

6 (Present Perfect: throw away / your stamp collection)

Bad news about your stamp collection. It’s _____________________________________________________

7 (Present Perfect: Martians / kidnap / my neighbours)

Did I mention my neighbours? They’ve _______________________________________________________

8 (Past Simple: five people / see / the ghost)

Did you hear about the ghost? It _________________________________________________________