同樣是對比 in spite of / despite / although / even though / though 這 5 個字使用有什麼差別？

考考你 

為什麼第一句用 even though，第二句用 in spite of？

• Even though we don't agree, I think she's a brilliant speaker.
• In spite of the law, people continue to use mobile phones while driving.

那剩下這五個單字的又有什麼差異？

• in spite of
• despite
• although
• even though
• though

 其實，這五個單字都很接近，唯一的差別就是使用結構、時機不同。

詞性分類 

一、In spite of, despite（介系詞）

這兩個都是介系詞，所以後面接名詞、動名詞、或代名詞組成介系詞片語。我要特別提醒，有些人會寫 despite of，這是錯的。despite 不加 of，in spite 才有 of。

• In spite of his success, John remained a humble man.
• Despite being very smart, Jack does not work very hard.
• Despite his injuries, John still finished the race.

二、although, even though, though（連接詞）

這三個是連結詞，所以後面要接句子（句子的定義是有主詞、動詞）

• They are coming next month, though I don’t know which day.
• She walked home by herself, although she knew it was dangerous.
• Mary hasn’t called, even though she said she would.

小考（空格 2 選 1 despite, in spite of 或是 although, even though, though）

1. _____ they’d only known each other for 2 weeks, they got married.
2. She passed the exam, _____ she made a lot of mistakes.
3. _____ I really like to eat ice cream, I try to eat as little as possible.
4. I would move to the US if I got the job, _____ the distance from my friends.
5. I forgot about the project, _____ him reminding me yesterday.

解答

1. although, even though, though 都可以
2. although, even though, though 都可以
3. although, even though, though 都可以
4. In spite of, despite 都可以
5. In spite of, despite 都可以