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Speaker 1: The other day, I was thinking about the difference between though,

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even though, and although even though They all mean but

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there's a difference though and although you may not have

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learned it before, you'll learn it today. Let's dive in.

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Speaker 2: Welcome to another Happy English podcast, coming to you from

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New York City. And here's your English teacher, Michael.

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Speaker 1: All right, thank you, Jan and thanks everyone. It's Michael

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here from Happy English and I help people speak English better.

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And this is Happy English Podcast, Episode nine to forty one. Though,

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even though, and although, what's the difference? Hey, thanks for

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tuning in. So let me ask you something. Have you

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ever heard someone say even though I was tired I

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went to the party, and then later heard although I

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was tired, or even just I was tired though. Wait

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a minute, are those all the same or are they different? Well,

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the truth is, these three phrases, though, even though, and

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although all express contrast, like you say one thing but

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then mention something opposite. But how we use them depends

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on the situation, how formal or casual we want to sound,

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and the rhythm of the sentence. So today I'll walk

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you through the differences between though, even though, and although

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with clear, natural examples to help you speak more fluently

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and confidently. Let's start with though. This one is super

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common in every day spoken English. We often use it

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the same way as but especially the end of a

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sentence like this, I'd even study for the test I passed,

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though or it started raining a little, we kept on hiking, though,

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See what I mean. The word though is like an afterthought,

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a little contrast at the end of your sentence. It

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softens the contrast, and it's very natural. It's not as

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formal as saying, but so it fits casual, friendly conversations.

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Here's another one, that sushi place has really good food.

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It's a little pricey, though, or he didn't say much

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in the meeting. He made a great impression though. Again,

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using though at the end of your sentence gives the

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feeling that you want to say, but in a softer,

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friendlier way. All right now, how about using even though.

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This one's a little different, even though also shows contrast,

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but it's stronger. We use even though when something is

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unexpected or surprising, like even though I was exhausted, I

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stayed up to finish my homework. Yeah, you'd expect the

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person to go to sleep, right, but they didn't. That's

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the power of even though it makes the contrast more dramatic,

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it shows surprise. Here's another one, even though she doesn't

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like flying, Jenny traveled to Australia for her friend's wedding.

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Or even though it was snowing, we went out for

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ice cream. Now, compare that to it was snowing we

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went out for ice cream though, even though has more energy.

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It feels stronger and more direct. Even though it was snowing,

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we went out for ice cream, using though at the

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end feel softer, almost like what we wanted to say

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was an afterthought. It was snowing we went out for

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ice cream though, So yeah, the impact between these two

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has a totally different feel. Okay, now let's talk about although.

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Although and though have similar meanings. But although sounds a

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little more formal. It's more common in writing speeches or

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professional settings like this. Although I disagree with what the

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senator discussed, we understand her reasoning for blah blah blah

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blah blah formal sounding right. Or although he had little experience,

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he got the job at the bank. So when you

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want to sound more polished or academic, although it was

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a good choice, you could say, although it was raining,

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the game continued, and that would fit perfectly fine in

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a news report or essay, but in conversation you're more

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likely to hear it was raining we played anyway, though,

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Let's take a look at though, even though and although

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side by side, I was tired, I went to the party.

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Though even though I was tired, I went to the party.

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Although I was tired, I went to the party. All

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of them work, and the meaning is mostly the same,

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but the tone and rhythm change depending on which word

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you choose. And you might be wondering, what about but

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I was tired, but I went to the party, but

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just shows contrast. As a fact, it's neutral. There's no

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real emotion or nuance. On the other hand, though, even

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though and although all add a little feeling, they give

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the sentence some flavor, some attitude, and that's the difference.

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So here's a good rule of thumb. Use though, when

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you want to sound natural and casual, especially at the

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end of a sentence, use even though, when you want

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to show a stronger or more surprising contrast. Use although

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when you want to sound a bit more formal or

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you're writing something serious. Now here's your challenge. Try writing

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or saying three sentences with this language from your own life,

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one with though, one with even though, and one with although.

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Think about something you did yesterday or something that surprised you.

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Here are a few examples to help you out. It

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was cold, I went for a walk though, even though

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I had a headache. I joined the meeting although I

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was nervous. I gave my presentation and hey, keep in mind,

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the best way to remember English, like this and any

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other word or phrase in English, is to take that

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word or phrase, write it in a sentence that's true

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for you or true in your world, and then memorize

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your sentences. That's how you build fluency. Thanks for listening,

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and remember learning another language is not easy, but it's

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not impossible, and I'm here to help you on your journey.

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Speaker 2: This podcast is brought to you by Happy English. Please

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visit Myhappy English dot com. Show your support for Happy

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English by leaving us a review. Get English, Get Happy,

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Happy English.