Although or even though?? - Difference

[Mark Skype Teacher]

Hi all,

I have a doubt about the following sentence: "I recommended her to change the language course although her child is complaining".

'Although' sounds odd here however it seems the grammar says it can be used in this structure. I think 'even though' is much better but I can't find out why.

What is true is that 'although' and 'even though' mean 'in spite of the fact that'. However, I don't know the difference in the quoted sentence above. Can anyone shed some light on this?

Many thanks. Have a fabulous day.

[pcgamer]

I think any native speaker would be able to shed some light on that. I fr one prefer to use 'Although'.

[Baburra]

As far as I know, they can be used almost interchangeably, and the reason why one sounds out of place in some cases is because "although" is considered more formal than "though" or "even though", so when you are speaking casually, it sounds out of place to suddenly use such a formal word in between. That's just my take on it. I'll be waiting for other explanations too as I am also curious about this.

[Hexahedron]

I concur with Baburra. 'Although' and 'even though' have the same meaning and can easily and consistently be used in place of each other. And once again I agree with Baburra that 'although' is somewhat more formal than 'even though'. In your example sentence either one would be fine, but I feel a comma is necessary, I'll re-write the sentence below:

'I recommend her to change the language course, although her child is complaining.'

[Mark Skype Teacher]

OK thanks to all for your responses. Have a great day.

[spacetimecontinuum]

I believe they are interchangeable, however, as a Native English speaker "even though" feels more natural in that sentence, it just flows better. Sometimes with English similarities, one just has to make an Executive Decision, lol.

[NATASHA]

Although and even though are conjunctions, which means that they have the same meaning.

We can use either one, it does not make a difference.

I sometimes think that there is place for them; I would use Although at the beginning of a sentence instead of even though but it is up to the individual as they mean the same.

[SpringBreeze]

I'm going to agree with everyone else here and say... although and even though have the same meaning, but in certain cases one does sound better than the other. Language is weird like that.

Anyway, coming from an english native speaker, in this particular sentence "even though" or "though" sounds better that "although".

[gmckee1985]

They are definitely interchangeable. I don't think it matters which one you use, regardless of the situation. It's really down to personal preference. Usually I use "although". No real reason, it just comes more naturally to me. So don't feel any pressure. Just use which words suit you best.

[sillylucy]

I just think that whole sentence is a bit confusing. I would have used "because" instead of although and even though. They can be used interchangeably, but I would just omit them from this instance.

[Rosa]

Both although and even though would be correct to be used in the same sentence. Even though, to me does make a stronger point when giving a reason for action though.

[RhodaDEttore]

I agree with Sillylucy.  The sentence seems disconnected. The two ideas have no relation. If the child was complaining and that is why you recommended the course change, then it should be "because".

I recommended a course change, because the child was complaining.  --->  This was explains why you recommended a course change.

Using "although" or "even though" makes the sentences sound like:

I didn't care that the child was complaining, so I recommended a course change.-->  with this, we don't know what the child complained about or why the course was changed. Unless the original sentence of "I recommended a course change, although the child was complaining" means the child was complaining about the course change, but you did it anyway. OR... the child did not want the course changed, but you recommended it anyway.

Did i just confuse you?

[Ruth]

I agree with RhodaEttore that 'because' will be a much better word to use.  There would be no course changed if the child was not complaining sounds more sensible.