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Concession: Despite or Although

In that past week, some very motivated Advanced Learners showed me that when it comes to expressing concession, the use of DESPITE  and  ALTHOUGH  shouldn't be taken for granted... In order to help them (and all of you at the same time), here's a focus of what you should know and remember! 

I) DESPITE/ IN SPITE OF + Noun Phrase/ Noun/ Pronoun:

The preposition DESPITE is followed by a NOUN PHRASE. 

( Careful!   "despite" is never followed by « of ».)

The noun phrase may be: 

* a determiner + (adjective) + noun;

* a pronoun (remplacing a noun) [a demonstrative pronoun: this/ that/ these /those - an indirect interrogative pronoun  (what)]

- He didn't pass his exam despite his regular work.

- In spite of what he had promised, (= despite what he had promised), he didn't keep his New Year's resolutions.

- She went to school, despite the fever she had when she woke up this morning.

II) THOUGH/ ALTHOUGH +verb phrase/ clause (= subject + verb) ...

The conjunction THOUGH/ ALTHOUGH is followed by a VERB PHRASE. 

- He didn't pass his exam although he had worked regularly.

- Paul finished his report, although he was very tired and feeling sleepy. 

* As though/ as if...

- Paul answered the question as though he hadn't thought about what he was saying.

* Even though/ even if...

- Even though he had been grounded by his parents, Reed escaped from his home to go to the party. 

To sum up: you only have to check the nature of the word after the link word: (although + verb // despite + noun). Easy, isn't it? 

Good luck for the test!  

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10. ' Brenda didn’t come to help you inspitealthoughdespiteI don't know what she had said.' BR>