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In French, to express "despite/in spite of", you will use the prepositional phrase "malgré / en dépit de". Let's learn when to use which.
Using "malgré" and "en dépit de" in French
Look at these sentences:
Just like in English despite [someone/something] and in spite of [someone/something] are interchangeable, so in French you can use either malgré [quelque chose/quelqu'un] or en dépit de [quelque chose/quelqu'un].
The preposition malgré is equivalent to despite, whereas the expression en dépit de is equivalent to in spite of.
Using malgré / en dépit de with stress pronouns
When it comes to people (e.g. despite myself), you can either use:
- malgré + moi/toi/elle/lui/nous/vous/elles/eux
OR
- en dépit de + moi-même/toi-même/elle-même/lui-même/nous-mêmes/vous-mêmes/eux-mêmes/elles-mêmes.
Fixed Expressions
- The expression en dépit du bon sens means against all common sense.
- In some cases, the expression malgré tout (lit. "despite everything") can also mean anyway.
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