by R. S. Karunaratne

Adverbial phrases with ‘despite’ and ‘in spite of’

We use adverbial phrases with ‘despite’ and ‘in spite of’ to show contrast.
An adverbial phrase, as usual, does not have a finite verb.

Mahela played well despite his injury.
The tourists reached the capital despite the riots.
Shyama spoke well despite her nervousness.

The train reached Maradana on time despite its slow speed.
Milton decided to sing a song despite his sore throat.
We decided to climb the mountain in spite of the exhaustion.
Grandfather is a cheerful man in spite of his age.

The students had to wait in a long queue in spite of their impatience to collect applications.

I walked home in spite of the heavy rain.
Sharon managed to think clearly in spite of the shock.
An adverbial phrase beginning with ‘despite’ or ‘in spite of’ is followed by a noun.

However, the noun can be preceded by an article or a possessive pronoun.
Don lives simply despite his enormous wealth.

His car was not a total wreck despite the crash.
Raja managed to find a job in New York despite the recession.

The teacher succeeded in persuading the student to sit the examination despite his stubbornness.

Martha refused to join her friends despite her loneliness.
Priya spends lavishly in spite of her limited income.
Sena got the job in spite of his bad record.
I have not attained my goal in spite of my perseverance.
Jayanthi slept well in spite of her illness.
We decided to drive in spite of the fog.

Note: ‘Despite’ is not followed by the preposition ‘of’.

[Activity]

Rewrite the following sentences using ‘despite’ or ‘in spite of’. Check your answers with the key.

1. Lal did not give up hopes although he failed the examination.
............................................................................

2. Mother remained calm although she had heard some bad news about her child.
............................................................................

3. Ravi studied at a prestigious university although he was poor.
............................................................................

4. We remain intimate friends although we occasionally quarrel.
............................................................................

5. Some students lack confidence although parents encourage them to study.
............................................................................

Key:

1. Despite / In spite of his failure Lal did not give up hopes.
2. Despite / In spite of hearing bad news about her child mother remained calm.
3. Despite / In spite of being poor Ravi studied at a prestigious university.
4. Despite / In spite of occasional quarrels we remain intimate friends.
5. Despite / In spite of parents’ encouragement some students lack confidence.

Know your idioms

Idioms are modes of expression peculiar to a language which frequently defy logical and grammatical rules. However, without the use of idioms both speech and writing will lose much of their vitality and colour.

Pick the right meaning of each of the following idiomatic expressions and check your answers with the key.

1. If you go out in the rain without an umbrella, you are asking for trouble.

(a) inviting something unpleasant
(b) inviting something pleasant
(c) getting wet

2. My foot is asleep.

(a) injured
(b) numb
(c) swollen

3. I do not think you are fully awake to the problems in your new job.

(a) are afraid of
(b) are concerned with
(c) are aware of

4. You know very well that I have no axe to grind, I just want to help you.

(a) have a selfish reason
(b) have a motive
(c) have a valid reason

5. Constant backbiting by her superiors led Mary to her resignation.

(a) praising somebody in their presence
(b) criticising somebody in their absence
(c) refusing to help somebody in need

6. Rex tried to win the contract for his firm by giving a backhander to a high government official.

(a) cheque
(b) gift
(c) bribe

7. Jayasuriya was forced to backpedal and say the opposite of what he had said originally.

(a) support one’s views
(b) reverse one’s opinion
(c) comment

8. I never thought that you are a back-seat driver.

(a) a trainee driver
(b) a substitute driver
(c) passenger in a car who gives unwanted advice on how to drive

9. Get off my back. How can I work when you’re criticising me?

(a) stop annoying me
(b) stop teasing me
(c) stop praising me

10. At the meeting he took a back seat and preferred to listen to others.

(a) took no interest
(b) took an important position
(c) took an unimportant position

Key:

1. (a) 2. (b) 3. (c) 4. (a) 5. (b) 6. (c) 7. (b) 8. (c) 9. (a) 10. (c)

Starters:

More on the comparative degree

We use ‘than’ after comparatives.
Rome is older than London.
Apples are more expensive than mangoes.

It is easier to send an e-mail than to write a letter.
The patient is better than yesterday.
Mother gets up earlier than father.

We use ‘than me, than her, than him, than us, than them, and than you.’

Rodrigo can run faster than me.
I got up earlier than her.
You are smarter than him.

They are richer than us.
We spend more than them.
I am taller than you.

We use ‘more than’ and ‘less than’ in the following manner.

Sanju eats more than you.
Sajith talks more than me.

We work more than them.
Some people earn more than us.
Babies sleep more than adults.

Most women earn less than men.
You exercise less than me.

Poor people spend less than the rich.
I write less than her.

Some people talk less than others.
Sometimes we use ‘a bit’ and ‘much’ with comparatives.

Do you have a room a bit bigger than this?
Is your mother a bit older than your father?

This place is a bit more comfortable than your room.
This book is a bit more difficult than that.

That apartment is a bit more expensive than this.
I am looking for a much bigger house than this.

India is much bigger than Sri Lanka.
An apartment is much more expensive than an ordinary house.

The patient is much better today than yesterday.
My sister is much younger than me.

[Activity]

Complete the following sentences using comparatives.

Check your answers with the key.

1. Brian isn’t tall. Kelum is ........................ him.
2. Martha is old. Amanda is .................... her.
3. Lesley works hard. Don works ............... him.
4. Malcolm smokes. Fernando smokes ............... him.
5. Sajini is a good secretary. Sevvandi is .................. her.
6. I don’t know many people. My brother knows ............... people .............. me.
7. Grandfather does not have much money. Father has got ..... money ............... him.
8. Chitra cannot run very fast. Kalani can run .............. her.
9. I haven’t been here long. You have been here ..................... me.
10. I don’t get up early. Mother gets up .................. me.

Key:

taller than 2. older than 3. harder than 4. more than 5. better than 6. more ...than 7. more ... than 8. faster than 9. longer than 10. earlier than

Forming adjectives from nouns

It is useful to know how to build word families. For a start, let’s make adjectives from nouns. Write the relevant adjective against each noun in the following list. Check your answers with the key.

[Nouns ] [Adjectives]

1. qualification ...................
2. quarter .....................
3. question .....................
4. race .....................
5. rarity .....................
6. reaction .....................
7. reading .....................
8. readiness .....................
9. realism .....................
10. reason .....................
11. receipt .....................
12. recognition .....................
13. record .....................
14. reflection .....................
15. regret .....................
16. regularity .....................
17. relation .....................
18. relaxation .....................
19. reliability .....................
20. religion .....................
21. remark .....................
22. repetition .....................
23. report .....................
24.representation .....................
25. reputation .....................
26. respect .....................
27. response .....................
28. responsibility ....................
29. rest .....................
30. retirement .....................
31. reward .....................
32. richness .....................
33. righteousness ..................
34. romance .....................
35. roughness .....................
36. roundness .....................
37. royalty .....................
38. rudeness .....................
39. rule .....................
40. running .....................

Key:

1. Qualified 2. quarterly 3. questionable 4. racial 5. rare 6. reactionary 7. readable 8. ready 9. real 10. reasonable 11. receptive 12. recognizable 13. recorded 14. reflective 15. regrettable 16. regular 17. relate 18. relaxed 19. reliable 20. religious 21. remarkable 22. repetitive 23. reported 24. representative 25. reputable 26. respectable 27. responsive 28. responsible 29. restless 30. retired 31. rewarding 32. rich 33. righteous 34. romantic 35. rough 36. round 37. royal 38. rude 39. ruling 40. runny