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"Despite" is followed by a noun; "although" introduces a full clause with subject and verb.
Side-by-side comparison
"Despite" is followed by a noun or gerund, never a full clause. "Despite the rain" = in spite of the rain.
Despite the rain, we went for a walk.
She passed the exam despite studying very little.
Despite his fear, he jumped.
"Although" is followed by a full clause with subject and verb. "Although it was raining" = even though it was raining. Both express contrast but with different structures.
Although it was raining, we went for a walk.
She passed the exam although she had studied very little.
Although he was afraid, he jumped.
Common mistake
- •"Despite it was raining" is wrong: "despite" cannot precede a phrase with subject + verb. Correct: "Despite the rain..." (noun) or "Although it was raining..." (clause).
- •"Although the rain, we went" is also wrong: "although" needs a phrase with subject + verb.
Trick to remember it
- •Subject + verb after? Use "although".
- •Only a noun or gerund? Use "despite".
- •"Despite the rain" / "Despite working hard".
- •"Although it rained" / "Although she worked hard".
Quick rule
- •"Despite" + noun or gerund.
- •"Although" + clause (subject + verb).
Did you know?
"In spite of" is an exact synonym of "despite" and follows the same rules: always with a noun or gerund. "Even though" is more emphatic than "although" but works the same grammatically. And "though" at the end of a sentence has a special colloquial use: "It was cold. Fun, though.", a brief end-of-sentence concession that sounds very natural in conversational English.
Practise what you learned
Exercise 1 · Pick the right one
_____ it was raining, they decided to have the picnic outside.
Exercise 2 · Pick the right one
_____ the rain, they decided to have the picnic outside.
Exercise 3 · Form the word
Related word pairs
'Although' expresses contrast neutrally; 'even though' adds stronger emphasis to what is unexpected.
'Although' introduces a surprising concession; 'whereas' introduces a direct contrast between two opposing facts.
"Because" introduces a full clause with subject and verb; "because of" is followed by a noun or pronoun.
'Even if' is used for hypotheticals or uncertain conditions; 'even though' is used for real, established facts.
Bryan López
Founder of SpeakUP Academy