Despite and In Spite Of

---

Using Despite And In Spite Of

They both are prepositional phrases followed by a noun / pronoun or V-ing form.

Despite the harsh weather conditions, the climbers managed to return from Everest.

In spite of the devastating effects of the earthquake, the city is expected to grow.

Note:

There is no difference between these two; neither in meaning nor in usage. You can substitute despite for in spite of and vise verse.

Despite / in spite of having a newborn baby, Sally has never missed any opportunity to go on vacation.


Attention!

There is no despite of
We say despite the wind, despite the bad news... and not despite of the wind...
It's either in spite of or despite


Don't confuse these two structures with "although" as although is followed by a subordinating clause and not a prepositional phrase.

Although she has a newborn baby, Sally has never missed any opportunity to go on vacation.

See Although/In spite of ↑▲▲▲▲▲▲▲↑