'Although' vs 'but' vs 'and also'

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satishchandra: Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts; Posts: 172; Joined: Fri Oct 21, 2011 9:10 pmFollowed by: 2 members; Thanked: 7 times

by satishchandra » Tue Nov 22, 2011 1:04 am

Although dozens of New York's small museums are either devoted to local history or
various ethnic groups, there are many one-of-a-kind museums from Manhattan to the
Bronx that are open for exploration on summer weekends.
(A) Although dozens of New York's small museums are either devoted to local history or
various ethnic groups, there are
(B) Although dozens of New York's small museums are devoted to local history or
various ethnic groups,
(C) Dozens of New York's small museums are devoted to local history or various ethnic
groups, but there are
(D) Dozens of New York's small museums are devoted to local history or various ethnic
groups, and there are also
(E) Devoted to local history or various ethnic groups, dozens of New York's small
museums and also

[spoiler]OA: D[/spoiler]

Some experts have stated that this question is not formulated in the best way; however, my doubts are not related to this question.

'Although' is used to express contrast.
Can 'but' replace 'although' in any sentence? when and when not?
how does 'and also' act as? definately not to express contrast. So how?
Mitch, please pitch in cand clear doubts.

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Source: Beat The GMAT — Sentence Correction | Tue Nov 22, 2011 1:04 am

essaysnark: Legendary Member; Posts: 795; Joined: Sun Sep 20, 2009 10:41 amFollowed by: 85 members; Thanked: 177 times

by essaysnark » Tue Nov 22, 2011 10:44 pm

Well, we're not Mitch but we'll jump in anyway.

"Although" canNOT be replaced with "But" -- however, "though" often can replace "but."

"Although it was raining, she still wanted to walk, not take the car."

The phrase "Even though" can be used in place of "although."

"She still planned to attend, though not as often." == "She still planned to attend, but not as often."

These also provide contrast, in a milder way (if that makes sense). "Although" is a more contrasting contrast

than "though" or "but" in these examples. These are not exhaustive however! Probably there are other variations outside of what we're offering here.

"And also" is extending the though, adding something complementary to the original idea.

These are just our attempts to define and describe, not textbooks ones - but hopefully they add some value.

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jumsumtak: Senior | Next Rank: 100 Posts; Posts: 45; Joined: Sun Jun 19, 2011 5:11 amFollowed by: 2 members; Thanked: 8 times

by jumsumtak » Wed Nov 23, 2011 8:47 am

I like this one. It just reminds me of how important it is to decipher the meaning of the sentence on the whole as compared to solving it just for the grammatical errors.

I don't see any use of although or but in this sentence. There are no contrasts mentioned as such. Just extra information to what has already been written down earlier.

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satishchandra: Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts; Posts: 172; Joined: Fri Oct 21, 2011 9:10 pmFollowed by: 2 members; Thanked: 7 times

by satishchandra » Sat Dec 03, 2011 1:55 am

-- however, "though" often can replace "but."

I studied for weeks, BUT I still bombed the test.
I studied for weeks, THOUGH I still bombed the test.

I don't think meaning is same after replacement of 'BUT' with 'THOUGH' in the sentences above.
Can you throw more light on this?

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essaysnark: Legendary Member; Posts: 795; Joined: Sun Sep 20, 2009 10:41 amFollowed by: 85 members; Thanked: 177 times

by essaysnark » Sat Dec 03, 2011 3:59 am

satishchandra, you're right - the meaning is different based on your example.

In this case, "but" tells us what happened, or the result or outcome after studying.

The second instance, with "though", actually is a bit awkward and probably wouldn't be used. Instead, you could say:

Even though I studied for weeks, I still bombed the test.

This is saying "Despite the fact that I studied, I still had this outcome." In common spoken English, we'd say "even though", typically. "Though I studied for weeks, I still..." is also correct. The version you have is not quite right.

But wait. Let's not perpetuate such negativity.

Let's change this to:

I beat the GMAT yesterday even though I hardly studied at all!

Or:

I hardly studied at all, but I still beat the GMAT yesterday!

You could also say:

I hardly studied at all, however I still beat the GMAT yesterday!

Yet again, this is a case where there are no hard-and-fast rules to memorize, unfortunately.

EssaySnark

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