Is 'on the contrary' correctly used?

[joham]

Is 'on the contrary' correctly used in the sentence which is taken from my textbook? Thank you in advance.

When Darlene Coulon from France came dashing through the door, she recognized Tony Aarcia's smiling face. They shook hands and then kissed each other twice on each cheek, since that is the Frech custom when adults meet people they know. Ahmed Aziz (from Jordan), on the contrary, simply nodded at the girls.

 

[mykwyner]

Your example does not sound too odd to me. On the contrary usually means "as an opposite," but people often use it to mean "differently." I don't think that nodding is the opposite of cheek-kissing.

Tony kissed the girls. On the contrary, Ahmed turned his back on them.


I would find the following to sound odd:

I like sports. On the contrary, my wife likes music.

There is nothing contrary about sports and music. A contrary relationship would be:

I like sports. On the contrary, my wife absolutely hates sports.

 

[5jj]

I don't think that nodding is the opposite of cheek-kissing.

I agree, and so on the contrary does not sound very natural to me. I'd probably use however.

 

[joham]

Thank you very much, mykwyner and fivejedjon. And do native English speakers use 'instead' or 'on the other hand' or 'by contrast' or 'in contrast to that' in this context?


When Darlene Coulon from France came dashing through the door, she recognized Tony Aarcia's smiling face. They shook hands and then kissed each other twice on each cheek, since that is the Frech custom when adults meet people they know. Ahmed Aziz (from Jordan), __________, simply nodded at the girls.

Thank you again.

 

[5jj]

'On the other hand' would work.

 

[BobK]

:up: .... or 'meanwhile'/'for his part''/'though'.... I'd be tempted to cock a snook* at people who deprecate conjunctions that start sentences, and say 'But Ahmed...'.

But that's just me.

b

PS * https://www.usingenglish.com/reference/idioms/cock+a+snook.html