what is despite in spanish and how is it used

Question

grammar

Hola, Bienvenido al foro! Please use capitals. This is our English word of the day for today. Also, for this you can use the translator at the top of the page. - rac1, May 21, 2012

Brady has also given a good example of how it is used. - rac1, May 21, 2012

Answer 1

Despite = even though/although

A pesar de

Decidí continuar mi tarea a pesar de ser cansado. - I decided to continue my homework despite being tired.

Even though I was tired, I still continued my homework.

Answer 2

Check out the word of the day today for examples!

Answer 3

A pesar de (que) is usually used to say despite the fact that....

It can be followed by both the subjunctive AND indicitave

A pesar de que mi mama quiera que vaya, no voy a escucharla (escucharle...leísmo?)

Despite the fact that my mom might want me to go, I'm not going to listen to her.

A pesar de que mi amigo sólo tiene 20 años, él toma muchas bebidas durante los fines de semanas.

Despite the fact that he's only 20, he drinks alot on the weekends.

The subjunctive is used in the first example becasue it's a future situation expressed with the present indication a sense of doubt. I'm not declaring yet that my mom definately wants me to go or not.

Indicitave is used in the second becasue it's relaying factual information, I am declaring that this is what he does and I know it.

Hmm, somehow I jumped from giving examples for the word to giving a subjunctive lecture....O_o - BradyLabuda, May 21, 2012