Linking Words & Discourse Markers – English Grammar Exercises for B2
A tech blogger is writing a comprehensive, balanced review of a highly expensive laptop that suffers from poor battery life.
Choose the best option (A, B, C, or D) to complete each sentence from the tech review.
1 “______, the laptop features a stunning 4K OLED display. On the other hand, its battery life is absolutely abysmal.”
(A) In one hand
(B) Firstly
(C) On the one hand
(D) At one hand
2 “______ the high price tag, this laptop offers unmatched rendering speeds for professional videographers.”
(A) Although
(B) Despite
(C) Furthermore
(D) Despite of
3 “______ the battery drains remarkably quickly, the fast-charging technology is incredibly efficient.”
(A) Despite
(B) In spite of
(C) However
(D) Although
4 “The processor is undeniably powerful. ______, the severe thermal throttling ruins the long-term gaming experience.”
(A) However
(B) But
(C) Consequently
(D) Although
5 “In spite of ______ so expensive, the build quality of the chassis feels surprisingly cheap and plasticky.”
(A) be
(B) is
(C) being
(D) having
6 “______ the mechanical keyboard is an absolute joy to type on, the trackpad is frustratingly small and unresponsive.”
(A) During
(B) While
(C) Despite
(D) Therefore
7 “The battery barely lasts four hours on a full charge. ______, it remains the top choice for studio-based editors who are always plugged in.”
(A) Despite
(B) Furthermore
(C) On the other hand
(D) Nevertheless
8 “The ultra-lightweight design makes it highly portable. ______, it sacrifices the necessary cooling fans to achieve this impressive thinness.”
(A) On the other hand
(B) In the other hand
(C) Additionally
(D) On another hand
9 “I highly recommend this flagship device to creative professionals, ______ it costs almost twice as much as its direct competitors.”
(A) despite
(B) in spite
(C) despite the fact that
(D) nevertheless
10 “The ‘Pro’ model features a dedicated graphics card, ______ the ‘Air’ model relies entirely on integrated graphics.”
(A) otherwise
(B) whereas
(C) despite
(D) nevertheless
11 “The manufacturer boldly promises an ‘all-day battery’, ______ my rigorous testing shows it completely dies before lunchtime.”
(A) however
(B) despite
(C) consequently
(D) yet
12 “I simply cannot justify the $3,000 price tag, ______ the brushed aluminum finish is undeniably premium.”
(A) despite
(B) even if
(C) even though
(D) even
13 “______ previous generations, this year’s model has drastically reduced the number of available USB ports.”
(A) In contrast to
(B) Contrasting to
(C) In contrast with
(D) On the contrary
14 “______ I love the vibrant OLED screen, I simply cannot ignore the severe overheating issues when exporting video.”
(A) Despite
(B) Much as
(C) Even
(D) As much
15 “The laptop looks beautiful and runs silently. ______, the lack of battery endurance makes it virtually useless for long international flights.”
(A) As it may be
(B) Being that as it may
(C) Be that as it may
(D) Accordingly
16 “The cooling system gets terribly loud under heavy workloads. ______, the massive performance boost you get is absolutely remarkable.”
(A) Having said that
(B) Saying that
(C) Having told that
(D) Moreover
17 “______ its obvious flaws in battery efficiency, the laptop will undoubtedly become a bestseller this holiday season.”
(A) Although
(B) However
(C) Because of
(D) Notwithstanding
18 “Expensive ______ it is, this machine will easily save 3D artists hundreds of hours of rendering time each month.”
(A) although
(B) as
(C) however
(D) despite
19 “The company completely ignored the user complaints about the low-resolution webcam. ______, the overall hardware package is highly compelling.”
(A) All the same
(B) All the similar
(C) In all same
(D) As a result
20 “______ its cutting-edge specifications and massive RAM, the device feels remarkably sluggish during everyday web browsing.”
(A) Above all
(B) With all
(C) For all
(D) In all
ANSWER KEY & EXPLANATIONS
1 (C) On the one hand
- Why it is correct: This is the first half of the classic correlative phrase “On the one hand… On the other hand,” which is used to introduce two contrasting aspects of a single issue.
- Distractor Analysis: (A) Common Mistake: Incorrect preposition (“In”). (B) Meaning Trap: “Firstly” is used for listing items, not for pairing with “On the other hand”. (D) Structural Error: Incorrect preposition (“At”).
2 (B) Despite
- Why it is correct: “Despite” is a preposition of concession. It must be followed by a noun phrase—in this case, “the high price tag”.
- Distractor Analysis: (A) Structural Error: “Although” is a conjunction and must be followed by a full subject-verb clause. (C) Meaning Trap: “Furthermore” adds supporting information, destroying the contrast. (D) Common Mistake: “Despite of” is grammatically invalid (it should either be Despite or In spite of).
3 (D) Although
- Why it is correct: “Although” is a subordinating conjunction. It is correctly followed by a full independent clause (“the battery drains remarkably quickly”).
- Distractor Analysis: (A) & (B) Structural Error: “Despite” and “In spite of” must be followed by a noun phrase or a gerund, not a full clause. (C) Structural Error: “However” is a conjunctive adverb and cannot be used to introduce a dependent clause separated only by a comma.
4 (A) However
- Why it is correct: The conjunctive adverb “However” is used at the beginning of an independent sentence (followed by a comma) to introduce a strong contrast to the preceding sentence.
- Distractor Analysis: (B) Structural Error: Starting a sentence with “But” followed immediately by a comma is considered incorrect in formal writing. (C) Meaning Trap: Shows a logical result (“Therefore”), not a contrast. (D) Structural Error: “Although” cannot stand alone as a conjunctive adverb.
5 (C) being
- Why it is correct: After the prepositional phrase “In spite of,” any verb must take the gerund form (V-ing). Therefore, the “to be” verb becomes “being”.
- Distractor Analysis: (A) & (B) Structural Error: Base and present tense verbs cannot follow a preposition. (D) Meaning Trap: “Having so expensive” makes no grammatical sense; an adjective (“expensive”) requires a “to be” verb.
6 (B) While
- Why it is correct: “While” is used as a subordinating conjunction to contrast two different aspects occurring simultaneously (the good keyboard vs. the bad trackpad).
- Distractor Analysis: (A) Structural Error: “During” is a preposition requiring a noun phrase, not a full clause. (C) Structural Error: “Despite” requires a noun phrase. (D) Meaning Trap: “Therefore” indicates a consequence.
7 (D) Nevertheless
- Why it is correct: A formal conjunctive adverb meaning “in spite of that.” It perfectly connects the severe drawback (short battery) with the surprising concession (it is still a top choice).
- Distractor Analysis: (A) Structural Error: Cannot be used independently with a comma. (B) Meaning Trap: Adds similar, supporting information. (C) Meaning Trap: Often requires “On the one hand” to have been stated previously for optimal flow, whereas “Nevertheless” acts as a direct concession.
8 (A) On the other hand
- Why it is correct: Used to pivot to a contrasting viewpoint or consequence (praising the lightness, then criticizing the lack of fans).
- Distractor Analysis: (B) Common Mistake: Incorrect preposition (“In”). (C) Meaning Trap: Adds supporting information, losing the balanced “pros and cons” aspect of the review. (D) Structural Error: Incorrect phrasing (“another”).
9 (C) despite the fact that
- Why it is correct: When you need to use “despite” but the following phrase is a full subject-verb clause (“it costs almost twice as much”), you must insert the phrase “the fact that” to bridge the grammar.
- Distractor Analysis: (A) Structural Error: “Despite” cannot directly precede a full clause. (B) Structural Error: Missing “of”. (D) Structural Error: Cannot act as a subordinating conjunction mid-sentence.
10 (B) whereas
- Why it is correct: “Whereas” is a conjunction used to directly contrast two subjects or situations in the same sentence (the Pro model vs. the Air model).
- Distractor Analysis: (A) Meaning Trap: “Otherwise” means “if not.” (C) & (D) Structural Error: Incorrect grammatical structure for joining these clauses.
11 (D) yet
- Why it is correct: “Yet” functions as a coordinating conjunction (similar to “but”) connecting two contrasting independent clauses within one sentence.
- Distractor Analysis: (A) Structural Error: “However” cannot connect two clauses in this manner without a semicolon or period. (B) Structural Error: “Despite” is a preposition. (C) Meaning Trap: Indicates a result.
12 (C) even though
- Why it is correct: A subordinating conjunction introducing a contrasting fact (the aluminum finish is premium).
- Distractor Analysis: (A) & (D) Structural Error. (B) Meaning Trap: “Even if” is used for hypothetical situations, but the premium finish is an established, undeniable fact here.
13 (A) In contrast to
- Why it is correct: A standard prepositional phrase meaning “unlike” or “as opposed to,” correctly followed by a noun phrase (“previous generations”).
- Distractor Analysis: (B) Common Mistake: Not a standard English idiom. (C) Common Mistake: “In contrast with” is less standard than “to” in this specific context, though sometimes used; “In contrast to” is the definitively correct CEFR standard. (D) Meaning Trap: Used to deny a previous statement completely (e.g., It is not bad. On the contrary, it is excellent.).
14 (B) Much as
- Why it is correct: Advanced concession structure (C1/C2). “Much as + Subject + Verb” means “Even though [Subject] [Verb] very much.” (Even though I love the screen very much, I cannot ignore…).
- Distractor Analysis: (A) Structural Error: Requires a noun phrase. (C) Structural Error: “Even” cannot stand alone as a conjunction here. (D) Structural Error: “As much” is structurally invalid at the start of this clause.
15 (C) Be that as it may
- Why it is correct: A highly formal, idiomatic discourse marker meaning “Nevertheless” or “Despite that fact.” It is used to acknowledge a positive point before delivering a heavy criticism.
- Distractor Analysis: (A), (B), and (D) are grammatically incorrect variants or invalid meanings of this specific idiom.
16 (A) Having said that
- Why it is correct: A very common transition phrase used to introduce a redeeming quality or positive note immediately after delivering a harsh criticism.
- Distractor Analysis: (B) & (C) Structural Error: Incorrect formations of the fixed idiom. (D) Meaning Trap: “Moreover” would introduce another negative point, breaking the balanced nature of the review.
17 (D) Notwithstanding
- Why it is correct: A highly formal academic and professional preposition that functions exactly like “Despite” or “In spite of.”
- Distractor Analysis: (A) Structural Error: Requires a full clause. (B) Structural Error: Requires a full clause. (C) Meaning Trap: “Because of” makes the sentence illogical (it will become a bestseller because of its flaws).
18 (B) as
- Why it is correct: An advanced inverted concession structure: [Adjective] + as/though + Subject + Verb (Expensive as it is = Even though it is expensive).
- Distractor Analysis: (A), (C), and (D) cannot be used in this specific inverted adjective structure.
19 (A) All the same
- Why it is correct: An idiomatic phrase meaning “Nevertheless” or “In spite of this.” It is highly natural in B2/C1 spoken English and review writing.
- Distractor Analysis: (B) & (C) Structural Error: Do not exist in English. (D) Meaning Trap: Shows a logical result, missing the contrast.
20 (C) For all
- Why it is correct: When “For all” begins a sentence and is followed by a noun phrase, it means “Despite” or “In spite of.” (Despite its cutting-edge specifications, it feels sluggish).
- Distractor Analysis: (A) Meaning Trap: “Above all” means “most importantly.” (B) Common Mistake: Literal translation from other languages. (D) Structural Error.
GRAMMAR POINTS TO REMEMBER
To write an objective review that avoids sounding overly biased (either entirely positive or entirely negative), you must master the structures of Concession and Contrast.
- Prepositions (Must be followed by a Noun Phrase or V-ing):
- Despite / In spite of / Notwithstanding / For all
- ⚠️ The Classic Trap: NEVER write “Despite of”. If you want to use a full clause after “Despite,” you must add the bridge phrase: Despite the fact that…
- Conjunctions (Must be followed by a full Subject + Verb clause):
- Although / Even though / While / Whereas / Much as
- Example: Although the battery is weak, the screen is beautiful.
- Independent Transitions (Starting a new sentence, followed by a comma):
- However, / Nevertheless, / On the other hand, / Having said that, / Be that as it may, / All the same,
- Example: The laptop is expensive. Having said that, it is absolutely worth the money.
- Advanced Inverted Concession (C1/C2 Level):
- [Adjective] + as/though + Subject + Verb, …
- Example: Instead of “Although it is heavy…”, use: Heavy as it is, it feels very durable.