Concession

[Nurses will go on strike because they think their salaries are too low]
It might be that the government had already promised to review the nurses' case, and that they had decided to threaten to strike despite that offer. I.e., we now bring in the circumstances in which this assertion is valid.
We call clauses beginning with despite, although and while "concessive" clauses (& will offer further examples later); e.g.

	Sources in the Hospital Authority report that Hong Kong’s nurses may go on strike over low pay unless the government promises to review their pay structure
	à Sources in the Hospital Authority report that although the government had promised to review their pay structure, Hong Kong’s nurses may (still) go on strike

Task 7: Add "concessive" qualifications: (e.g. while, although, despite, even if)

a) "The Hong Kong stock market still continued to fall"

b) "The price of foodstuffs is continuing to rise"

c) "Many educators argue that mother-tongue education is best for university students"

Answers: See Delicacy Notes for suggested improvements in language delicacy.

There is one last dimension of "delicacy" to deal with: Presupposition