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Which one do you think is more appropriate in the following sentence? I feel 'even if' sounds better to me. But I am not sure.

  1. I take the dog for a walk every day even if sometimes it is raining.
  2. I take the dog for a walk every day although sometimes it is raining.

Thanks.

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  • Or ...but sometimes it's raining, which is closer to although in nuance. Or However... (which for some reason works better if it starts a new sentence). Commented Jun 10, 2022 at 10:28
  • I'd say (1) would sound natural only after say [A] "I never take my little Poochy out in bad weather." ... [B] "I take the dog for a walk every day even if sometimes it is raining." // (1' ) "I take the dog for a walk every day, come rain come shine" sounds more natural as a standalonesentence. Commented Jun 10, 2022 at 10:56
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    The first sentence could be true even if it never rains at the speaker's location. The second sentence couldn't. Commented Jun 10, 2022 at 12:18
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    It is the word sometimes that redunds the even though and although. Even though and yet then but sometimes I make up words, I still gotta take the dog out or else. Commented Jun 10, 2022 at 12:37

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As far as the grammatical correctness goes for the two sentences that you've mentioned, they are both right. But if you mean to ask if they are both semantically equivalent and interchangeable, that's a no.

The dependent clause of the first sentence "even if sometimes it is raining" serves to emphasise on the first part of the sentence, "I take the dog for a walk every day". It reinforces the idea that whether it rains or not, the dog is taken out for a walk.

In the second sentence, however, "although" is helping point out an exception. That sentence may connote (aside from other possible meanings) that the dog is taken out for a walk on all days except on days when it rains. If you may be having difficulty in understanding how this may be so, try appending a little more context to that sentence. Consider this:

I take the dog for a walk every day although sometimes it is raining. On such days, we spend the day at home playing fetch.

However, there can be no way wherein the first sentence can be made to highlight an exception.

[edits: improvement in clarity, omission of 'but' in accordance with LPH's comment]

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  • You're saying the second sentence implies the speaker doesn't take the dog out every day? I'm not sure that's true. Certainly "I walk the dog every day although sometimes we don't go very far" implies you go out every day. Commented Jun 10, 2022 at 14:14
  • Perhaps I wasn't very clear. I meant to highlight the difference in usage. I was trying to point out that although in a sentence like this can mean that I don't take the dog out every day, whereas even if could never. The part of the sentence followed by an although serves to point out an exception (works as a but). Even in your sentence, the exception highlighted is that you don't go very far some days. Commented Jun 10, 2022 at 15:05
  • "But" is used for the expression of a contrast whereas "although" is used for concessions. In this sentence, replacing "although" by "but" yields nonsense. Commented Jun 10, 2022 at 18:06
  • @LPH You're right. I have omitted the reference from my answer. Thanks! Commented Jun 10, 2022 at 18:47

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