despite
part of speech
preposition (despite)
meaning for a pupil
Despite means without being stopped by something; even though something else is true. tree →
sense in the lessons
In stories and reports it links two facts that do not seem to fit: the second happened anyway. In writing lessons it is a joining word for contrast, like «although» and «but». Phrases: «despite the rain», «despite this», «despite being tired», «despite the fact that».
examples
- We played outside despite the rain. tree →
- Despite being tired, she finished her homework. tree →
- Despite the cold, the children swam in the sea. tree →
- He was happy despite losing the match. tree →
- Despite all our practice, we forgot the words. tree →
- The bus came on time despite the snow. tree →
- Despite the fact that it was late, Dad read us a story. tree →
- Ferchar Mac Ro did not stop till he got the sons of Uisnech away with him, despite the suspicion of Deirdre. tree →
note
Never say «despite of» — that is a mistake. «In spite of» means the same and does need «of». After «despite» comes a noun or an -ing word, not a full sentence: «despite the rain», «despite being ill»; or use «despite the fact that» + sentence. Not a number word.
In the corpora
- Morning sickness is feeling or being sick in early pregnancy, and despite the name it can happen at any time of day.
- Bots sometimes say upsetting things despite safety rules; close the app and tell a grown-up.
- The moonrat smells strongly of garlic or onion, and despite its name it is not a rat but a cousin of the hedgehog.
- Despite their name, no centipede has exactly one hundred legs, and most millipedes have far fewer than a thousand.
- The inner core stays solid despite the heat because the enormous pressure of everything above squeezes it.
Trees and pragmatics
Every meaning and example of «despite» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.