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meaning of "despite" and "in spite of"
Posted: Sat Jan 02, 2010 3:55 pm
by hereinchina
Hello,
Can you give me an easy to understand definition of "despite" and "in spite of", and an example of how to use them in a sentence. The definition in the dictionary isn't so clear or easy to understand.
Another dictionary?
Posted: Wed Jan 06, 2010 3:38 am
by Heath
I'd recommend trying another dictionary (see recommendations under your other post regarding 'deal with' and 'work with').
Posted: Thu Jan 07, 2010 1:26 am
by woodcutter
Despite owning such a rotten dictionary, Here in China was a serious student of English.
In spite of Woodcutter's slightly exasperated replies, he continued to post questions in the forum that could easily be answered if he looked in a decent dictionary.
(The two are the same)
There are some very poor dictionaries out there so you really should change yours - there are some good ones online though.
Posted: Sun Jan 17, 2010 6:34 pm
by dave-b
They are the same thing, and both go before nouns:
Despite the rain, we still went to the park.
In spite of the rain, we still went to the park.
A common mistake is for students to say "despite of", which is wrong.
Remember, gerunds (verbs + ING) can be used as nouns as well.
Example:
Despite living in France, she does not know how to speak French.
What is different is "although" or "even though". These go before subjects and verbs:
Although it was raining, we still went to the park.
Examples:
Despite his short height, he played basketball well.
Although he was short, he played basketball well.
Hope that helps...