Explaining Prices: although, despite and linking words for price increases

Q: What's the difference between despite and in spite of?

There's no difference in meaning : despite and in spite of both introduce a contrast and take a noun or an -ing form. Only the form differs: in spite of always ends in of , and despite never takes it. So despite the delay and in spite of the delay are both right; despite of the delay and in spite the delay are wrong. Before a clause, add the fact that : despite the fact that prices fell .

Q: What's the difference between although and despite?

The difference is grammar, not meaning: although + a clause, despite + a noun or an -ing form. Although the market has fallen, our price is fixed until spring. Despite the fall in prices, our price is fixed until spring. So Although the high price… is wrong, and so is Despite market prices have fallen… , a wrong reply in the chat of Explaining Prices , a B2 Business English lesson on edio.ai.

Q: What are cause and effect linking words?

Cause and effect linking words tie a reason to its result : because , as and since + a clause; because of , due to and owing to + a noun; so after a comma; and therefore , as a result and consequently to open a new sentence. Prices rose due to dry weather in Brazil. Energy got more expensive, so our costs rose. Owing to and consequently sound formal.

Q: How do you use however in a sentence?

Start a new sentence with however and a comma , or put it between commas after the subject: Prices fell. However, our costs rose. Our price, however, is fixed until spring. It can't join two clauses with only a comma, so Prices fell, however our costs rose is wrong. To keep one sentence, use a semicolon or but : Prices fell; however, our costs rose.

Q: Is it "despite of" or "despite"?

It's always despite , without of : Despite the high price, the hotel signed the contract. The form with of is in spite of , three words that never lose the of . Two more typical slips: although + a noun (say Although the price was high , not Although the high price ) and even alone where even though is needed: Lukas signed, even though the price was high.

Q: How do you write a price increase letter or email?

State the change, the date and the honest reason , then what you did to keep the increase small: Due to higher wages and energy costs, our price will rise by 4% from next month, although we have absorbed part of these costs ourselves. Write a clear subject line, link reasons with because of or as a result , and promise nothing you can't keep. It's a homework choice in Explaining Prices , a B2 Business English lesson on edio.ai.

Q: How do you explain to a client why a price hasn't gone down?

Be honest: explain why your costs haven't fallen yet , say when the price will be reviewed, and don't promise a figure. Although market prices have fallen, most of the coffee we're roasting now was bought months ago. We review our prices in line with the market, so your price may come down a little. However, I can't promise a figure yet. A café owner gets these answers in the chat of Explaining Prices on edio.ai.

Q: What does "absorb a cost" mean?

To absorb a cost is to pay an expense yourself instead of charging customers for it: We've absorbed some of those costs ourselves. The opposite is to pass on a cost by changing your price. Two related terms: overhead , the regular costs of running a business, such as rent and energy, and in line with , changing in the same way as: We review our prices in line with the market.

Q: How do I teach although and despite to adults?

Teach them as one pair with two patterns : although + subject and verb, despite + a noun or -ing form. Learners rewrite sentences both ways ( Although prices fell… becomes Despite the fall in prices… ), then use both to explain a real price or decision from their work. In-company groups can work from their own price list; one-to-one learners can draft a reply to a demanding client.

Q: What's good homework for practicing linking words?

Good homework makes the learner explain something real , such as a price or a delay, where reasons and contrasts need linkers. Ask for two contrast linkers ( although , despite , however ) and two of cause or result ( because of , due to , as a result ). In Explaining Prices , a B2 Business English lesson on edio.ai, a gap-fill and a memory game check themselves; a client email and a recording on a decision's pros and cons go to the teacher.

Although, despite and other linking words are the grammar of this B2 Business English lesson plan on explaining prices to clients.

Grammar: Contrast with although + a clause and despite + a noun (despite the fall in prices), however and whereas, and cause and result with due to, so and as a result.
Topic: Explaining why a coffee price hasn't fallen with the market, at a fictional Oregon roaster, with overhead, in advance and absorb a cost.
Activities: An article on the coffee market, a client meeting to hear, linker drills, a chat with a café owner, role-plays on a wheel, and a client email and a recording for homework.

What's inside

Chapter 1Warm-up: What Are We Really Paying For?
- PictureUnlock
- Open a box and discussOpen the boxUnlock
- Study the vocabulary: prices and costsVocabularyTry it
- Match the phrases to the situationsMatchUnlock
Chapter 2Reading: From Record Highs to a Sharp Fall
- Read the article: Why hasn't my coffee gotten cheaper?ArticleUnlock
- True or false? Check the articleTrue or falseUnlock
- Choose the correct answer: the coffee marketQuizUnlock
Chapter 3Listening: I Brought a Chart
- Listen to Priya and LukasListeningTry it
- Transcript, for the teacherUnlock
- Choose the correct answer: Priya's explanationQuizUnlock
Chapter 4Grammar: Although, Despite, Therefore
- Study the scheme: linking words of contrast, cause and resultGrammar schemeTry it
- Choose the correct option: contrastChoose the optionTry it
- Choose the correct option: cause and resultChoose the optionUnlock
- Drag the linkers into the gaps: Priya's note to LukasDrag and dropUnlock
- Choose the correct sentenceQuizUnlock
Chapter 5Speaking: Explain It Honestly
- Choose the best replyChatTry it
- Spin the wheel and speakSpin the wheelUnlock
Chapter 6Homework: Put It in Writing
- Fill in the gaps with one wordFill in the gapsUnlock
- Find the matching pairs: phrases and their meaningsMemory gameUnlock
- Write an email to a client about a priceWriting, checked by the teacherUnlock
- Record the pros and cons of a decisionSpeaking, checked by the teacherUnlock

Pricing vocabulary

10 words and phrases from the lesson, each with a picture and audio in edio.

+7 more with pictures and audio in the lessonMore words

sell out
in advance
hold out for
overhead
pass on
absorb a cost
in line with

Grammar: linking words of contrast, cause and result

When a client asks why a price hasn't come down, a good answer links reasons and contrasts: the market has fallen, but costs have risen, so the price stays. Learners choose each linker by what comes after it, punctuate however and therefore, and pick formal linkers for emails and neutral ones for talk.

Linking words: contrast, cause and result

How to explain a price, a delay or a decision clearly

Although, despite, however, whereas

Although, even though and though take a clause; despite and in spite of take a noun or an -ing form: Despite the fall in prices… However starts a new sentence, and whereas or while sets two facts side by side: Green coffee is cheaper, whereas wages are higher.

Linker	What follows	Example
although · even though · though	a clause (subject + verb)	Although the market has fallen, our price is fixed until spring.
despite · in spite of	a noun, an -ing form, or the fact that + clause	Despite the fall in prices, … · In spite of paying less for beans, …
however	a new sentence (+ comma), or between commas	Prices have fallen. However, our costs have risen.
whereas · while	a clause that compares two facts	Green coffee is cheaper, whereas wages are higher.
but · yet	a clause, in the middle of a sentence	Prices fell in spring, yet they rose again in summer.

Clause or noun? The test for each linker

Check what follows: a subject and a verb need although or because; a noun needs despite, because of or due to, and despite also takes an -ing form. To put a clause after despite, add the fact that: despite the fact that prices fell.

+ clause (subject + verb)

although prices fell
even though costs rose
because the harvest was small
despite the fact that prices fell

+ noun or -ing form

despite the fall in prices
in spite of rising costs
because of the small harvest
due to the rain

Cause and result: because, due to, so, as a result

Because, as and since give a reason as a clause: We buy early because the best coffees sell out. So adds a result after a comma, while therefore and as a result open a new sentence: Wages went up. As a result, a bag costs more to make.

Linker	What follows	Example
because · as · since	a clause (subject + verb)	We buy early because the best coffees sell out.
because of · due to · owing to	a noun or noun phrase	Prices rose due to dry weather in Brazil.
so	a result clause, after a comma	Energy got more expensive, so our costs rose.
therefore · as a result · consequently	a new sentence (+ comma), or after a semicolon	Wages went up. As a result, a bag costs more to make.

Where however and therefore go

Neither joins two clauses with just a comma: use a new sentence or a semicolon (Wages went up; therefore, our costs rose.), or set the word between commas inside one clause: Our price, however, is fixed until spring. In speech, though often comes last: I can't promise a number, though.

At the start of a new sentence, with a comma: Prices fell. However, our costs rose.
Between commas, after the subject: Our price, however, is fixed until spring.
After a semicolon: Wages went up; therefore, our costs rose.
Before the main verb: We have therefore decided to keep the price.
In speech, though often goes at the end: I can't promise a number, though.

Formal or neutral, and honest

Owing to, consequently and therefore sound formal, right for emails and reports; in conversation, people usually say because of, so and but. For a price, give the reason, then the contrast: Because we bought early, your price is fixed until spring. However, the review may bring a small reduction.

Formal or neutral?

Owing to, consequently and therefore sound formal: good in emails and reports. In conversation, people usually say because of, so and but. As and since mean because and often start the sentence: As the contract was signed in the fall, the first review is in the spring.

Explaining a price honestly

Give the reason, then the contrast, and promise only what you can keep: Because we bought our coffee months in advance, your price is fixed until spring. However, if the market stays lower, the review may bring a small reduction.

Typical mistakes: contrast

Despite of the high price, the hotel signed the contract.
Despite the high price, the hotel signed the contract.
Despite never takes of. In spite of always does.
Although the high price, the hotel signed the contract.
Although the price was high, the hotel signed the contract.
Although + clause. Despite + noun.
In spite the delay, the coffee arrived fresh.
In spite of the delay, the coffee arrived fresh.
In spite of: three words.
Lukas signed, even the price was high.
Lukas signed, even though the price was high.
Even alone can't join two clauses. On its own it adds emphasis: even more expensive.

Typical mistakes: cause and punctuation

Prices fell due to the harvest was big.
Prices fell due to the big harvest.
Due to + noun. With a clause, use because: because the harvest was big.
We raised our prices because of energy is more expensive.
We raised our prices because energy is more expensive.
Because of + noun. Because + clause.
Prices fell, however our costs rose.
Prices fell. However, our costs rose.
However can't join two clauses with only a comma.
Costs rose, therefore we raised our prices.
Costs rose; therefore, we raised our prices.
Therefore needs a new sentence or a semicolon. So can follow a comma: Costs rose, so we raised our prices.

More lessons on this grammar: Linking words lessons and exercises

Try the although and despite exercises

Try them yourself: these are the same exercises your students do in edio.

What's in the lesson

10 auto-checked exercises
3 games
2 teacher-checked tasks
1 article
1 grammar scheme
1 set of word cards
1 audio clip
1 picture
1 transcript

The main objectives of this lesson are to:

contrast two facts with although + a clause or despite + a noun: Although the market has fallen, our price is fixed until spring.
give reasons and results with because of, due to, so and as a result: Prices rose due to dry weather in Brazil.
punctuate however and therefore: Prices fell. However, our costs rose. Wages went up; therefore, our costs rose.
explain a price to a client honestly, by email or in a chat, promising only what you can keep: I can't promise a figure yet.

Lesson 14 is the pricing lesson of Reports, prices and feedback, unit 4 of Business English B2. It builds on because and so from lesson 28 of English A2.1 · Then and Now, and on lesson 6's verbs of change (rise, fall, peak), which return in the article on the market. A client who has read that coffee has gotten cheaper needs a reason and a contrast in one breath.

Ten phrase cards with pictures and audio, from hit a record high to in line with, follow a box of questions about costs and prices and are then matched to situations. An article tracks arabica on the New York market from record highs in 2024 and 2025 to a sharp fall in 2026, and explains why a roaster's price lags behind. In the AI-voiced listening, Priya, the finance director, tells Lukas, a hotel client, why his price stays until the spring review. The scheme leads into four self-checking drills: two linker choices, a note to complete and a sentence quiz. In the chat, students answer a café owner who asks why his invoice hasn't changed, and a spinning wheel serves up role-plays and opinion questions on prices.

Homework starts with a one-word gap-fill and a memory game, both self-checking. Students then email a client about a price, either a 4% increase or a price that stays the same for now, and record the pros and cons of a decision at work; the teacher reviews both.

Grammar:: linking words · contrast · cause and result · although vs despite
Topic:: explaining prices · the coffee market · talking to clients

Teaching tips

Sort the linkers by what follows them: write although, despite, because and due to on cards, and students place each over a clause column or a noun column before the first drill.
Pause the listening after each of Priya's reasons and have students restate it with another linker, turning although into despite or because into because of.
Bring in a real price list with in-company groups: one learner plays a client who has read that a cost fell, the other explains why the price stays, using one contrast and one result linker.
One-to-one, answer the homework as the client: reply to the learner's price email with a doubt, and ask for a second reply that uses however or although and promises no figure.

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The whole course: Business English B2 · A Year at Wrenfield

20 lessons at B2 in American English that follow a year at Wrenfield Coffee Roasters in Portland, Oregon, as founder Claire Morgan and her team win a Dutch hotel contract. Learners network, write emails, run meetings, negotiate, handle complaints and present figures, with one grammar point per lesson.See the course

Unit 1 First contacts
networking, a company story, a business lunch and emails: present tenses, the present perfect, question tags, indirect questions
Unit 2 Meetings and figures
scheduling, sales figures, running a meeting and negotiating: future forms, trends, gerunds and infinitives, conditionals
Unit 3 Problems and growth
a complaint, a late shipment, a launch and hiring: the present perfect continuous, the passive, comparatives, relative clauses
Unit 4 Reports, prices and feedback
reporting back, explaining prices, expenses and feedback: reported speech, linking words, modals of obligation, past modals
1. Lesson 13Reporting BackSay vs tell in reported speech
2. Lesson 14 · you're hereExplaining PricesLinking words of contrast, cause and result
3. Lesson 15Travel and Expenses: Can I Claim That?Modals of obligation, prohibition and permission
4. Lesson 16Giving FeedbackShould have, could have and didn't need to
Unit 5 Looking back and ahead
what went wrong, other cultures, an agency and next year: the third and mixed conditionals, past deduction, the causative, the future perfect

Questions about this lesson

What's the difference between despite and in spite of?

There's no difference in meaning: despite and in spite of both introduce a contrast and take a noun or an -ing form. Only the form differs: in spite of always ends in of, and despite never takes it. So despite the delay and in spite of the delay are both right; despite of the delay and in spite the delay are wrong. Before a clause, add the fact that: despite the fact that prices fell.

What's the difference between although and despite?

The difference is grammar, not meaning: although + a clause, despite + a noun or an -ing form. Although the market has fallen, our price is fixed until spring. Despite the fall in prices, our price is fixed until spring. So Although the high price… is wrong, and so is Despite market prices have fallen…, a wrong reply in the chat of Explaining Prices, a B2 Business English lesson on edio.ai.

What are cause and effect linking words?

Cause and effect linking words tie a reason to its result: because, as and since + a clause; because of, due to and owing to + a noun; so after a comma; and therefore, as a result and consequently to open a new sentence. Prices rose due to dry weather in Brazil. Energy got more expensive, so our costs rose. Owing to and consequently sound formal.

How do you use however in a sentence?

Start a new sentence with however and a comma, or put it between commas after the subject: Prices fell. However, our costs rose. Our price, however, is fixed until spring. It can't join two clauses with only a comma, so Prices fell, however our costs rose is wrong. To keep one sentence, use a semicolon or but: Prices fell; however, our costs rose.

Is it "despite of" or "despite"?

It's always despite, without of: Despite the high price, the hotel signed the contract. The form with of is in spite of, three words that never lose the of. Two more typical slips: although + a noun (say Although the price was high, not Although the high price) and even alone where even though is needed: Lukas signed, even though the price was high.

How do you write a price increase letter or email?

State the change, the date and the honest reason, then what you did to keep the increase small: Due to higher wages and energy costs, our price will rise by 4% from next month, although we have absorbed part of these costs ourselves. Write a clear subject line, link reasons with because of or as a result, and promise nothing you can't keep. It's a homework choice in Explaining Prices, a B2 Business English lesson on edio.ai.

How do you explain to a client why a price hasn't gone down?

Be honest: explain why your costs haven't fallen yet, say when the price will be reviewed, and don't promise a figure. Although market prices have fallen, most of the coffee we're roasting now was bought months ago. We review our prices in line with the market, so your price may come down a little. However, I can't promise a figure yet. A café owner gets these answers in the chat of Explaining Prices on edio.ai.

What does "absorb a cost" mean?

To absorb a cost is to pay an expense yourself instead of charging customers for it: We've absorbed some of those costs ourselves. The opposite is to pass on a cost by changing your price. Two related terms: overhead, the regular costs of running a business, such as rent and energy, and in line with, changing in the same way as: We review our prices in line with the market.

How do I teach although and despite to adults?

Teach them as one pair with two patterns: although + subject and verb, despite + a noun or -ing form. Learners rewrite sentences both ways (Although prices fell… becomes Despite the fall in prices…), then use both to explain a real price or decision from their work. In-company groups can work from their own price list; one-to-one learners can draft a reply to a demanding client.

What's good homework for practicing linking words?

Good homework makes the learner explain something real, such as a price or a delay, where reasons and contrasts need linkers. Ask for two contrast linkers (although, despite, however) and two of cause or result (because of, due to, as a result). In Explaining Prices, a B2 Business English lesson on edio.ai, a gap-fill and a memory game check themselves; a client email and a recording on a decision's pros and cons go to the teacher.

Are there interactive exercises for although and despite?

Yes: drop-down drills and chat replies give instant feedback on contrast linkers. Three parts of Explaining Prices, a B2 Business English lesson on edio.ai, can be tried on this page with no account: Priya explaining a hotel client's price, a drop-down drill on although, despite, however, whereas and yet, and a chat in which students answer a café owner about his invoice. The other exercises are locked.

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About this lesson

What's inside

Pricing vocabulary

Grammar: linking words of contrast, cause and result

Although, despite, however, whereas

Clause or noun? The test for each linker

Cause and result: because, due to, so, as a result

Where however and therefore go

Formal or neutral, and honest

Typical mistakes: contrast

Typical mistakes: cause and punctuation

Try the although and despite exercises

What's in the lesson

The main objectives of this lesson are to:

Teaching tips

Teach the whole lesson in edio

Start a free trial

Open the lesson

Teach it live or as homework

The whole course: Business English B2 · A Year at Wrenfield

Unit 1 First contacts

Unit 2 Meetings and figures

Unit 3 Problems and growth

Unit 4 Reports, prices and feedback

Unit 5 Looking back and ahead

Questions about this lesson

Teach this lesson with your students