Although vs. Despite 

"Although" vs. "Despite" in the English grammar

What Is Their Main Difference?

The main difference between 'although' and 'despite' is in their parts of speech. 'Although' is a conjunction while 'despite' is a preposition.

Meaning

'Although' and 'despite' are used to show contrast between two actions or events. Take a look at the following examples:

Example

She danced despite her sickness.

He spent most of his day outside although it was raining all day.

Parts of Speech

'Although' and 'despite' are different their parts of speech.
'Although' is a conjunction. It is classified as a contrast subordinating conjunction.
'Despite,' however is a preposition. Have a look:

Example

Although the storm was terrible, we safely made it back home.

We safely made it back home despite the terrible storm.

Position in a Sentence

'Although' and 'despite' can be used at the beginning and the middle of a sentence. Watch:

Example

Despite the hardships of life, they were smiling.

They were smiling despite the hardships of life.

Although life had its hardships, they were smiling.

They were smiling although life had its hardships.

Common Mistake

A common mistake made by learners is that they tend to use 'of' after 'despite.' Watch:

Example

✗ We went out despite of the storm warnings.

✓ We went out despite the storm warnings.

Comments

(0)
Loading Recaptcha...
Share on :
books
Learn English VocabularyStart learning categorized English vocabulary on Langeek.
Click to start
LanGeek
Download LanGeek app