Lindsay McMahon
"The English Adventurer"

What is the difference between “despite” and “in spite of”?

Are they formal or casual?

Spoken or written?

What other phrases mean the same thing?

Get all of this and more in today’s episode!

These two words are quite formal.

They are used more for writing than for speaking.

When we write a professional email we might use one of these words.

 

What do these words mean?

They mean this: even though one thing happened, another thing happened

“Despite my 8 hours of shopping, I couldn’t find a Christmas gift for my mom”

“In spite of his crude sense of humor he succeeds at work”

 

What other words mean the same thing?

  • Even though: “Even though he has a crude sense of humor he succeeds at work”
  • But…still: “He has a crude sense of humor but he still succeeds at work”

 

Use these to talk about your life goals and visions:

  • “We are building this show to be great despite our limited budget.”
  • “I am continuing my cardio kickboxing despite the fact that I have tendonitis in my feet.”
  • “In spite of my lack of artistic ability I am still working on my coloring skills.”
  • “Even though I am a terrible bowler I like to do it.”
  • “I can’t understand everything native speakers say but I still communicate with my open body language and my smile”

 

Now use these phrases to tell us about your life visions, challenges, and road blocks.

Write your sentence in the comments below.

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