In spite ofanddespiteare prepositional expressions.
In spite ofanddespitehave a similar meaning toalthoughoreven though. Theyexpress a contrast between two things. They are both more common in writing than in speaking.Despiteis a little more formal thanin spite of.
We usually usein spite ofanddespitewith a noun:
He got the jobin spite ofhis prison record.
[recession is a time when the economy of a country is not good]
John’s company is doing extremely welldespitethe recession.
We can also usein spite ofanddespitewith -ing:
He was very fastin spite ofbeing terribly overweight.
They arrived latedespiteleaving in plenty of time.
We don’t use athat-clause afterin spite ofordespite. We usein spite of the fact thatordespite the fact that:
When they arrived at Malaga it was hot,in spite of the fact thatit was only the end of April.
Not: …in spite of that it was only the end of April
In spite ofis written as three separate words. We never useofwithdespite:
They enjoyed the ridesin spite ofthe long queues.(or …despitethe long queues.)
Not: …inspite the long queuesor …despite of the long queues.
See also:
Althoughorthough?
Eventhoughandeven if