ENGLISH
REFERENCE

in contrast to sb/sth

prep. phr..
B1 Intermediate Oxford

prep. phr.. you use this to show that two people or things are very different from each other.

prep. phr.. a prepositional phrase used to introduce a comparison that highlights a significant difference between two entities or situations.


SIMPLE

In contrast to his sister, he is very shy.

CONTEXTUAL

The company's profits rose this year, in contrast to the heavy losses they suffered last summer.

COMPLEX

In contrast to the optimistic projections of the marketing department, the actual sales figures suggest a cooling market for luxury goods.

Usage

often used at the beginning of a sentence or after a comma to link two opposing ideas.

Teaching tip

encourage students to use this in academic writing as a more sophisticated alternative to 'but' or 'unlike'; note that 'to' is the standard preposition, though 'with' is occasionally seen.

Pitfall

In contrast of the hot weather, today is cold.In contrast to the hot weather, today is cold.the fixed phrase requires the preposition 'to' or 'with', never 'of'.

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