?Although, even though vs despite,in spite of
⇨Although and even though have a similar meaning to despite and in spite of.
⇨We use all of these words to say that a thing is surprising, unusual or unexpected in relation to another thing.
⇨While the meaning of these words is similar, there is a difference in how we use them.
=>Although and even though are conjunctions. They have the same meaning. Even though is a little stronger than although.
⇨We use these structures:
->although + a clause
->even though + a clause
=>Despite and in spite of are prepositions, and have the same meaning.
⇨They are used with these structures:
->despite + noun
->despite + verb + -ing
->in spite of + a noun
->in spite of + verb + -ing
?The examples below show us that although / even though and despite / in spite of are similar in meaning, but are used differently.
=>although, even though
(+ clause)
->despite, in spite of
(+ verb + -ing), (+ a noun)
-Even though / although he’s a millionaire, he lives in a very small flat.
-Despite / in spite of being a millionaire, he lives in a very small flat.
-He lives in a very small flat even though / although he’s a millionaire.
-He lives in a very small flat despite / in spite of being a millionaire.
-Although / even though he’s much older than the others, he won the race.
-Despite / in spite of being much older than the others, he won the race.
-He won the race although / even though he’s much older than the others.
-He won the race despite / in spite of being much older than the others.
-Even though / although it rained a lot, I enjoyed the holiday.
-Despite / in spite of the rain, I enjoyed the holiday.
-Even though / although they have a lot of money, they’re still not happy.
-Despite / in spite of their money, they’re still not happy.