Contrastive Conjunction

​Although, even though, in spite of and despite are all used to link two contrasting ideas or show that one fact makes the other fact surprising. They can all be used at the beginning or in the middle of the sentence. 

Despite the rain, we enjoyed the festival.
We enjoyed the festival, despite the rain.

The main difference between although, even though, in spite of and despite is that they are used with different structures. 

Do you know how to connect two contrasting ideas with words like although and despite? Test what you know with the following exercises and read the explanation to help you.

​After in spite of and despite, we use a noun, gerund (-ing form of a verb) or a pronoun.

• They never made much money, in spite of their success.

• In spite of the pain in his leg, he completed the marathon.

• Despite having a headache, I had a great birthday.

• The train was cancelled. In spite of that, we arrived on time.