Difference Between Although and Though

Although Vs Though

‘Though’ and ‘although’ are two words that are often confused with each other. The reason ‘“ they are conjunctions that have been used interchangeably for quite a long time. Yes, according to many dictionaries published around the world, ‘though’ and ‘although’ have similar meanings and can be used in lieu of each other. However, there are some differences with regard to how the two conjunctions can be used in a sentence.

‘Although she was angry, she still managed to smile.’ ‘Although,’ as in the preceding example, is primarily used as a conjunction if it is placed at the start of the sentence or before the main clause. In this same example, the conjunction ‘though’ can still be used in lieu of ‘although.’ Both conjunctions are used to introduce a sub-clause. If this is the case, their meanings would be ‘in spite of the fact that.’

‘Although’ and ‘though,’ can also be placed at the middle part of the sentence to serve as a link between phrases or words. In this manner they serve as a contrastive connector to connect two opposing messages between a main clause and a sub-clause as in the example, ‘She still managed to smile, although/though she was angry.’ Yet, in some instances, it is only ‘though’ that is best suited for use like in the sentence, ‘Fond though she is of sports, she’d rather not sit through one more soccer game.’

‘Though’ is the conjunction of choice at the end of the sentence like, ‘He was seriously offended by his accusations, he didn’t talk back though.’ If you’ll use ‘although’ then you need to shift the sentence a bit by placing the said conjunction in the middle ‘He was seriously offended by his accusations, although he didn’t talk back.’

In academic writing, the use of ‘though’ has been seen to be quite informal. For such purpose, ‘even though’ is used instead. ‘Although’ can never be used for such a purpose.

Summary

1. ‘Though’ is a more liberal conjunction in terms of sentence placement because it can be placed at the beginning, middle and end of the sentence. ‘Although’ has a more restricted use as it is most suited if placed at the start of the sentence as a form of introductory word for a subordinate clause or in between the sentence (after the main clause).
2. ‘Though’ is deemed to be a bit informal for academic writing.

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