Despite / In spite of vs. Although / Even though – English Grammar Exercises for B2
A runner is posting a triumphant social media status celebrating the completion of their first marathon, despite being physically exhausted.
Choose the best option (A, B, C, or D) to complete each sentence from the marathon runner’s post.
1 “______ feeling completely exhausted at mile 20, I absolutely refused to quit.”
(A) Although
(B) In spite of
(C) Despite of
(D) Even though
2 “I managed to cross the finish line ______ my legs were trembling uncontrollably.”
(A) despite
(B) in spite of
(C) even though
(D) despite of
3 “______ the excruciating pain in my knees, I kept my pace steady for the final stretch.”
(A) Despite
(B) Although
(C) Even though
(D) Because of
4 “I pushed through the final mile ______ hitting the infamous ‘wall’ earlier in the race.”
(A) although
(B) in spite of
(C) despite of
(D) even though
5 “______ being severely dehydrated, I sprinted the last 100 meters to beat my personal record.”
(A) Despite
(B) Although
(C) Even though
(D) In spite
6 “______ I had trained for six months, nothing could truly prepare me for that brutal final hill.”
(A) Despite
(B) In spite of
(C) Although
(D) Despite the fact
7 “I proudly wore my finisher’s medal all day ______ the overwhelming urge to just collapse in bed.”
(A) even though
(B) although
(C) in spite of
(D) despite of
8 “______ having massive blisters on both feet, I couldn’t stop smiling at the finish line.”
(A) Although
(B) In spite of
(C) Despite of
(D) Even though
9 “I felt a massive surge of adrenaline at the end, ______ my muscles were screaming for rest.”
(A) despite
(B) in spite of
(C) even though
(D) regardless
10 “______ the fact that my mind wanted to give up, my willpower forced my body to keep moving forward.”
(A) Despite
(B) Although
(C) Even though
(D) In spite
11 “______ losing my nutritional gels at the halfway mark, I maintained my energy using the aid stations.”
(A) Even though
(B) Although
(C) Despite of
(D) In spite of
12 “I achieved my target time ______ the brutal headwind during the last five kilometers.”
(A) despite
(B) although
(C) even though
(D) despite of
13 “______ breathing heavily and feeling dizzy, I focused entirely on the cheers of the crowd.”
(A) Despite
(B) Although
(C) Even though
(D) In spite
14 “I felt an overwhelming sense of pride ______ it took me over five hours to complete the course.”
(A) despite
(B) in spite of
(C) even though
(D) despite the fact
15 “______ experiencing severe calf cramps, I heroically hobbled the rest of the way to the finish line.”
(A) Although
(B) Even though
(C) In spite of
(D) Despite of
16 “The spectators kept high-fiving me ______ the pouring rain making everyone completely miserable.”
(A) even though
(B) despite
(C) although
(D) in spite
17 “______ I was practically limping for the last mile, the incredible energy of the city carried me home.”
(A) Despite
(B) In spite of
(C) Even though
(D) Because
18 “______ fighting the intense urge to just sit down on the pavement, I raised my arms in triumph at the end.”
(A) Although
(B) Even though
(C) In spite of
(D) Despite of
19 “My family believed in me ______ my own deep-seated doubts about finishing this brutal race.”
(A) in spite of
(B) although
(C) even though
(D) despite of
20 “______ running a marathon is physical torture, it is undoubtedly the most rewarding experience of my life.”
(A) Despite
(B) In spite of
(C) Although
(D) Because
ANSWER KEY & EXPLANATIONS
1 (B) In spite of
- Why it is correct: “In spite of” is a preposition correctly followed by a gerund phrase (“feeling completely exhausted”). This highlights the runner’s internal physical state.
- Distractor Analysis: (A) & (D) Structural Error: “Although” and “Even though” require a full subject and verb clause (e.g., Although I felt…). (C) Common Mistake: “Despite of” is grammatically invalid.
2 (C) even though
- Why it is correct: “Even though” is a subordinating conjunction used to emphasize a strong, surprising contrast. It must be followed by a full clause (“my legs were trembling”).
- Distractor Analysis: (A) & (B) Structural Error: Prepositions cannot be followed directly by a full subject-verb clause. (D) Common Mistake: Invalid idiom.
3 (A) Despite
- Why it is correct: “Despite” is a preposition that correctly precedes the noun phrase “the excruciating pain in my knees.”
- Distractor Analysis: (B) & (C) Structural Error: Conjunctions must be followed by a full clause. (D) Meaning Trap: “Because of” would mean the pain caused the steady pace, completely removing the element of willpower and contrast.
4 (B) in spite of
- Why it is correct: A preposition correctly followed by the gerund phrase “hitting the infamous ‘wall'”. (Note: The “wall” is a runner’s term for sudden, extreme fatigue).
- Distractor Analysis: (A) & (D) Structural Error: Conjunctions cannot be followed by a gerund phrase in this manner; they require a subject and conjugated verb. (C) Common Mistake.
5 (A) Despite
- Why it is correct: Correctly followed by the passive gerund phrase “being severely dehydrated”.
- Distractor Analysis: (B) & (C) Structural Error: Require a subject and a verb (e.g., Even though I was severely dehydrated). (D) Structural Error: Missing “of”.
6 (C) Although
- Why it is correct: Connects the dependent clause (“I had trained for six months”) to the main action, showing a contrast between preparation and the reality of the hill.
- Distractor Analysis: (A) & (B) Structural Error: Cannot directly precede a full subject-verb clause. (D) Structural Error: Missing the relative pronoun “that” (Despite the fact that).
7 (C) in spite of
- Why it is correct: Introduces the noun phrase “the overwhelming urge to just collapse in bed”.
- Distractor Analysis: (A) & (B) Structural Error: Require a full clause. (D) Common Mistake.
8 (B) In spite of
- Why it is correct: A preposition perfectly followed by the gerund phrase “having massive blisters on both feet”. This V-ing structure vividly captures the ongoing physical suffering.
- Distractor Analysis: (A) & (D) Structural Error: Require a full clause (e.g., Although I had massive blisters). (C) Common Mistake: “Despite of” does not exist in standard English.
9 (C) even though
- Why it is correct: Connects the main clause to the dependent clause (“my muscles were screaming for rest”).
- Distractor Analysis: (A) & (B) Structural Error: Prepositions cannot precede a full clause. (D) Structural Error: “Regardless” requires the preposition “of”.
10 (A) Despite
- Why it is correct: If you have a full clause but want to use a preposition, you must use the bridge phrase: “the fact that”. “Despite” perfectly fits this structure.
- Distractor Analysis: (B) & (C) Structural Error: “Although the fact that” is redundant and grammatically invalid. (D) Structural Error: Missing “of”.
11 (D) In spite of
- Why it is correct: Correctly precedes the gerund phrase “losing my nutritional gels”.
- Distractor Analysis: (A) & (B) Structural Error: Conjunctions must be followed by a full clause. (C) Common Mistake.
12 (A) despite
- Why it is correct: “Despite” introduces the noun phrase “the brutal headwind”.
- Distractor Analysis: (B) & (C) Structural Error: Must be followed by a full clause. (D) Common Mistake: Mixing “Despite” and “In spite of”.
13 (A) Despite
- Why it is correct: Directly precedes the compound gerund phrase “breathing heavily and feeling dizzy”.
- Distractor Analysis: (B) & (C) Structural Error: Must be followed by a subject and conjugated verb. (D) Structural Error: Missing “of”.
14 (C) even though
- Why it is correct: Connects the contrasting dependent clause (“it took me over five hours”) to the independent clause.
- Distractor Analysis: (A) & (B) Structural Error: Prepositions cannot precede a full clause. (D) Structural Error: Missing the relative pronoun “that”.
15 (C) In spite of
- Why it is correct: A preposition correctly followed by the gerund phrase “experiencing severe calf cramps”.
- Distractor Analysis: (A) & (B) Structural Error: Require a subject and a conjugated verb. (D) Common Mistake.
16 (B) despite
- Why it is correct: Introduces the noun phrase “the pouring rain,” which is then modified by a participle phrase (“making everyone completely miserable”).
- Distractor Analysis: (A) & (C) Structural Error: Require a full clause with a conjugated verb, not a participle modifier. (D) Structural Error: Missing “of”.
17 (C) Even though
- Why it is correct: Introduces the full subject-verb clause (“I was practically limping”). The use of “Even though” provides strong emotional emphasis on the runner’s struggle.
- Distractor Analysis: (A) & (B) Structural Error: Prepositions cannot be followed by a full clause. (D) Meaning Trap: Removes the contrast.
18 (C) In spite of
- Why it is correct: Correctly followed by the gerund phrase “fighting the intense urge”.
- Distractor Analysis: (A) & (B) Structural Error: Must be followed by a full clause. (D) Common Mistake.
19 (A) in spite of
- Why it is correct: Introduces the complex noun phrase “my own deep-seated doubts”.
- Distractor Analysis: (B) & (C) Structural Error: Must be followed by a full clause. (D) Common Mistake.
20 (C) Although
- Why it is correct: Connects the dependent clause (“running a marathon is physical torture”) to the main independent clause, summarizing the contrasting duality of the experience.
- Distractor Analysis: (A) & (B) Structural Error: Prepositions cannot directly precede a full subject-verb clause. (D) Meaning Trap: Removes the element of contrast and makes the sentence logically nonsensical.
GRAMMAR POINTS TO REMEMBER
When telling a story about a physical challenge, an intense workout, or an exhausting day, you want to focus on the action and the triumph, rather than getting bogged down in long sentences about how tired you were.
Here is how you do it at a B2/C1 level:
- The “V-ing” Structure (Gerunds):
- Instead of saying: “Even though I felt exhausted…” (Clause)
- Say: “Despite feeling exhausted…” (Preposition + V-ing)
- Why this works: Using Despite / In spite of + V-ing acts as a powerful shortcut. It turns your subjective physical feeling (feeling dizzy, experiencing pain, having blisters) into a dynamic noun phrase. It sounds incredibly fluent, active, and native.
- The Clause Rule (Subject + Verb):
- If you choose to use Although or Even though, you MUST provide a full sentence structure.
- Example: “Even though my legs were trembling, I finished the race.”
- The “Fact That” Bridge:
- If you have a full sentence but you really want to use a preposition, you have to build a grammatical bridge using the phrase “the fact that”.
- Correct: In spite of the fact that my mind wanted to quit, I kept moving.
- The Ultimate Grammar Trap:
- NEVER write or say “Despite of“.
- Remember: In spite has three words (In spite of). Despite is strong enough to stand by itself as one word (Despite).