Contrast Idea

akhpad wrote:Source: Veritas Prep SC-2
57 With only 7 percent of the globe’s surface area, rainforests contain more than half of the world’s plants and animal species, and absorb more carbon dioxide than any other land-based ecosystem on earth.

A: With
B: As
C: Being
D: Despite having
E: Although accounting for

Is contrast needed?

I believe that "Despite having" and "Although accounting for" both are correct idiom.

i suppose " despite having " is unidiomatic . "The classromm has only 750 sq feet" is almost similar and incorrect

The correct form of the modifier is "although accounting for" only 7 percent of the globe's surface area.

The reason for this is that you need to make sure that you are not implying that the rainforests own the surface area (with "despite having") or make it seem that the surface area is synonymous with the rain forests. The rain forests are not actually the surface of the earth, but the rain forest ecosystem "accounts for" the 7 percent of the earth's surface.

So the key is to have that nice contrast with "although" and then that comparison -- rainforests account for 7% and they contain nearly half of the species.

Does that help?

Thanks David.

David@VeritasPrep wrote: The correct form of the modifier is "although accounting for" only 7 percent of the globe's surface area.

Here, I have confusing in idiom.
I have seen that "according to" is correct idiom.

https://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/according

David@VeritasPrep wrote:The correct form of the modifier is "although accounting for" only 7 percent of the globe's surface area.

The reason for this is that you need to make sure that you are not implying that the rainforests own the surface area (with "despite having") or make it seem that the surface area is synonymous with the rain forests. The rain forests are not actually the surface of the earth, but the rain forest ecosystem "accounts for" the 7 percent of the earth's surface.

So the key is to have that nice contrast with "although" and then that comparison -- rainforests account for 7% and they contain nearly half of the species.

Does that help?

I thought the use of "although" should be followed by a subject and a verb.

You could have a form with the subject and verb, such as "although he was only 10 years old, he played first violin in the youth orchestra."

But you can also have this format "Although only 10 years old, he played first violin in the youth orchestra."

So you do not have to have a subject and verb after the although.