Despite vs. In Spite Of

What’s the difference between despite and in spite of?

The easy answer: none. Despite and in spite of, despite what you may have heard, work identically in a sentence.

In other words, these two prepositions, in spite of what you may have heard, are basically identical.

In most cases, both mean “notwithstanding,” “even though,” or “regardless of.”

Despite their similarities, keep these things in mind to make sure your usage gives no cause for complaint.

Where they go in a sentence

Both despite and in spite of are prepositions that show contrast. They can show up at the start of a sentence or in the middle, but you’ll often need an extra clause to show the flip side. For example:

In spite of this dependent clause, this sentence needs an independent clause (this one!) to be a full sentence.

As you may have guessed, the same would be true if we replaced the “in spite of” in that sentence with “despite.” What matters is that the independent clause—the one that could stand alone as a sentence—is there to balance out the dependent clause that starts with “in spite of.”

What comes after them

Not just any part of speech can be used with these two little prepositions. For the most part, you’ve got three options for what can follow your spite-related phrases.

A noun

For the next two hours the new boy’s behavior was exemplary, despite the spitballs, shot from the nib of a pen, that occasionally splattered against his face. —Gustave Flaubert, Madame Bovary

Grammatically savvy, and classy, too.

He was chubby and plump, a right jolly old elf, And I laughed when I saw him, in spite of myself! —Clement Clarke Moore, The Night Before Christmas

This take on Santa Claus (not be confused with an independent clause) demonstrates the common construction, “in spite of oneself.” This speaker means he laughed without meaning to. Sorry, Santa!

This is also an important exception: “in spite of oneself” is a fixed idiom: you wouldn’t say “despite oneself.”

A gerund

A gerund is a verb masquerading as a noun. Here’s how it looks with our words of the day.

‘Now, above all, he must be convinced that he is on an equal footing with all of us, in spite of his taking money from us,’ Alyosha continued in his rapture. —Fyodor Dostoevsky, The Brothers Karamazov

“Taking” works as a noun here—same as the nouns in the examples above. That -ing is what sets it apart.

Despite ‘throwing rocks,’ Mike knew, we all knew, that mighty Terra with eleven billion people and endless resources could not be defeated by three million who had nothing… —Robert Heinlein, The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress

Phrases with what or how

When not used to start a question, what, how, and their other wh- friends function as relative pronouns when they connect phrases in a sentence, or as adverbs when they modify a verb. Here are a few now.

The shower head. It worked fine despite how it looks. —TripAdvisor comment

“The shower head” is a fragment. But at least it works (grammatically and water-wise).

In spite of what happened to it, the pounding rain and hurricane-force winds, the barn still stands intact. —Peter H. Hare and Edward H. Madden, Causing, Perceiving and Believing: An Examination of the Philosophoy of C.J. Ducasse

Where they come from

“Spite” is a noun defined as “ill will or hatred toward another, accompanied with the disposition to irritate, annoy, or thwart.” That’s a fancy way to say “holding a grudge.” “Spite” is also a verb, which means “to purposely hurt or annoy.” For example:

Don’t cut off your nose to spite your face.

In other words, don’t look for revenge out of spite if you may end up harming yourself in the process.

Contemporary usage of despite and in spite of isn’t quite so, well, spiteful. But in some cases you can still pick up a hint of contempt in the “spite” part of these prepositions:

Cory ate all of the cookies in spite of his mom’s warnings.

In Cory’s case, “in spite of” means “regardless of,” but Cory may also hold a grudge against his mom for trying to curtail his cookie-eating.

Despite the many examples, now you’ve got a solid grasp of how these words work. Just don’t use them in spite, in spite of where they come from.

5 Amazing Library Facts

We know that libraries are portals to amazing knowledge and insight, but libraries themselves are also pretty amazing. Here are 5 facts about libraries that will amaze you.

1. According to the American Library Association, 58% of adults in the United States have a library card.

2. The Library of Congress is the world’s largest library. It contains over 160 million items!

3. According to the American Library Association, students in the United States make 1.5 billion visits to school libraries during the school year.

4. The highest library in the world is in Shanghai, China, 60 floors (over 757 feet) above street level.

5. The largest overdue fine for a library book was $345.14. The book was 47 years overdue!

Sources: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

5 Book-to-Movie Adaptations Worth Your Time

1. Great Expectations (1947) Book: Great Expectations by Charles Dickens Rotten Tomatoes: 100% Fresh This film adaptation of the literary classic immediately became the standard for Dickens adaptations. However, none have really been able to live up to the power of this version. The use of black and white film (despite the availability of color technology) lends a degree of austerity that reflects themes from the novel quite well on the screen.

2. The Godfather (1972) Book: The Godfather by Mario Puzo Rotten Tomatoes: 99% Fresh Given that Puzo assisted with the screenplay, it may not be such a surprise that the film adaptation maintains so much of the book’s integrity. This relationship paid off, however — the film (and its franchise) is known as a cinematic behemoth. It remains one of the most frequently quoted and referenced film franchises in popular culture.

3. The Big Sleep (1947) Book: The Big Sleep by Raymond Chandler Rotten Tomatoes: 96% Fresh This film is a great example of what skilled casting and shared vision do for a piece of art. Director Howard Hawks captures and keeps the essence of the novel while Bacall and Bogart embody it perfectly.

4. To Kill A Mockingbird (1962) Book: To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee Rotten Tomatoes: 94% Fresh There is a reason that Gregory Peck won Best Actor for his portrayal of Atticus Finch. He nails it and makes the film work. Strong screenplay and outstanding casting make this adaptation utterly wonderful.

5. The Silence of the Lambs (1991) Book: The Silence of the Lambs by Thomas Harris Rotten Tomatoes: 94% Fresh This film has become such a landmark in cinema that some may not realize that it was first a best-selling book. It is the careful and intimate adaptation of the dark and difficult themes of the book that make this film adaptation a masterpiece.

What is your favorite book-to-film adaptation?

Advice on Positive Thinking From Winnie the Pooh

1 The simplest things in life are the ones you should appreciate the most.

“What I like best in the whole world is Me and Piglet going to see You, and You saying ‘What about a little something?’ and Me saying, ‘Well, I shouldn’t mind a little something, should you, Piglet,’ and it being a hummy sort of day outside, and birds singing.”

2 Bad things are less bad if you have friends to help you.

Christopher Robin had a question to ask first, and he was wondering how to ask it.

“Well,” he said at last, “it’s a very nice house, and if your own house is blown down, you must go somewhere else, mustn’t you, Piglet? What would you do, if your house was blown down?”

Before Piglet could think, Pooh answered for him.

“He’d come and live with me,” said Pooh, “wouldn’t you, Piglet?”

3 Every problem has a solution.

Then he had an idea, and I think that for a Bear of Very Little Brain, it was a good idea. He said to himself: “If a bottle can float, then a jar can float, and if a jar floats, I can sit on the top of it, if it’s a very big jar.”

4 To make a good meal great, share it with a friend.

But Christopher Robin and Pooh went home to breakfast together.

“Oh, Bear!” said Christopher Robin. “How I do love you!”

“So do I,” said Pooh.

Words for Peace Around the World

We invent words all the time: movie, jeggings, Internet . . . Did you know underwhelmed has only been around since the 1950s? Of course, we drop words just as often. When was the last time you met a cordwainer? But important words tend to stick around and influence other words in all kinds of interesting ways. Let’s take a look at one of these words, which also happens to be one we hear a lot this time of year: peace.

The words for peace in many Romance languages are direct descendants from the Latin word for peace, pax. Spanish has paz, Italian has pace, and French has paix. Paix is the modern form of the Old French word pais, which was the word that English borrowed almost a thousand years ago and transformed into peace.

Before that, the English word for peace was frith, a cognate of the modern German word for peace, Frieden. Although frith disappeared, its linguistic cousin, friend, is alive and well.

In the 1960s, Americans began to use peace, and eventually peace out, as a way of saying goodbye. The Hawaiian word for peace, aloha, is used as both a goodbye and a greeting. In Korean, the standard greeting anyoung haseyo translates literally to something like “Are you at peace?” The Arabic greeting salaam and the Hebrew greeting shalom both share a common root, sal, which means—you guessed it—peace. This same root is also an element in place names like Jerusalem and in personal names like Solomon. The Russian word for peace, mir, was the name of a space station and is an element in given names like Mirna and Vladimir.

“Peace on Earth” is a refrain we often encounter in speeches, songs, and of course, holiday cards. Depending on exactly where on Earth you happen to be, the phrase might sound completely different in the local tongue. But no matter where you are, words that mean peace are certainly worth saying.

How do you say “peace”?

Know Your Homophones: Feint and Faint

Faint: Lacking strength; inclined to swoon; lacking in courage, spirit, or energy; lacking distinctness; hardly perceptible. For example: Due to the summer heat, she began to feel dizzy and faint. In the early morning hours, the sunlight is faint on the horizon. The music in the background was faint and hardly perceptible.

Feint: A movement made to confuse the opponent, a dummy; that which is feigned; an assumed or false appearance; an offensive movement resembling an attack in all but its continuance. For example: At the last minute, he feinted to the left and avoided his opponent’s grasp. After an initial feint of moving North, she continued with her initial plan of heading East.

To learn more about homophones, read this post about three confusing word pairs.

8 Email Tips for Introverts

According to the Myers-Briggs Foundation, you are an introvert if you feel most comfortable focusing on “your own inner world.” External world activities, such as talking with people directly or on the phone, prove challenging. While emailing may seem less intense, it has its challenges too. These eight tips are specially designed to make emailing as painless as possible for introverts.

1Minimize follow-ups by being thorough.

If you send an email, the last thing you want is to leave questions unanswered. People will reply to get clarification, or worse yet, they will want to talk in person. The best way to avoid this awkward situation is to cover all the details in one communiqué. Let’s look at a good and bad example.

I am updating the employee records. Please send a recent copy of your CV and a photo.

As a part of standard protocol, I am updating everyone’s employee records. Please email me a copy of your most recent CV. I also need a 2 x 2 inch (51 x 51 mm) headshot photograph taken within the last year. It doesn’t have to be professional, but it must have a solid color background. It will be used to print new identification cards, so pick one that you like!

The second example answers (and avoids) possible follow-up conversations. It encourages people to respond by email instead of dropping the materials at your office. Here are a few of the questions it answers: Why do you need the photograph? What size? Does it have to be professional? You can even go the extra mile by attaching examples of what you want your colleagues to send.

2Keep it short and sweet.

Being thorough is necessary; being wordy is not. The longer your email is, the harder it is for readers to get the point. Busy coworkers might miss the most important points if your email is a five-paragraph essay. Instead, use bullet points or include a summary at the beginning of the message. You can also add links to relevant information without spelling them out in the body of the text.

3Let your personality shine.

Email is the perfect medium to showcase your hidden talents and personality traits. For example, you probably wouldn’t be caught dead chatting at the water cooler. However, you might be quite funny with your close friends. Go ahead and be comical in your emails and group chats. If even a virtual joke seems too scary, put emojis to work! These cute little characters can roll on the floor laughing or give a cheeky wink for you. (Take into consideration the culture of your workplace. If it’s very formal, emoticons may be inappropriate.) You can also use emails to commend others, share messages with a big group, or take the lead. You don’t have to be limited by shyness if you have a computer and a keyboard.

4Practice crowd control.

Virtual groups are almost as bad as their real-life counterparts. To avoid them, limit your use of CC and BCC. (CC means “carbon copy.” BCC is blind carbon copy. You use these features to send emails to multiple recipients.) In most instances, it’s better to send each a personalized email. If you need to start a thread, include only the people essential to the task at hand. Otherwise, you might start a “reply all” nightmare. Learn more about how to CC wisely in this article about email habits.

5Answer right away.

Are you guilty of procrastination? Many introverts dread interaction, so they put off situations that bring them into contact with others. Don’t let this tendency creep into your emailing habits. Handle the majority of your emails with the 2-2-2 rule. Check your emails at least twice a day, at the beginning and toward the end of the workday. Answer immediately all emails that will take less than two minutes to handle. Star the remaining messages or mark them as unread. Set aside two hours every week to deal with these more lengthy follow-ups.

6Some emails are rhetorical.

Like questions, not every email needs an answer. Rather than stress out about replying to every email, ask yourself if the sender expects a response. For example, you can safely ignore forwards, newsletters, and voluntary surveys. Consider setting up a rule in your inbox that will automatically forward messages like these to a separate folder. On the other hand, make sure to answer invitations and direct emails promptly. If you are the sender, there’s nothing wrong with saying that no reply is required unless they have questions.

7Skip the email.

Some situations, such as asking for a promotion or expressing sympathy, are better handled in person. Email is often an inadequate means to convey a complex emotion or to deal with serious issues. Though talking face to face may seem difficult, it is preferable to inadvertently causing confusion or offense with a poorly worded email. Furthermore, never discuss private matters in an email. If you are uncomfortable with the information being forwarded or shared, it doesn’t belong in a message. If email is unavoidable, take your time. Before you send it, read it over in the perspective of the recipient. Do you sound like a human? Did you convey the right tone?

8Clinch the closing.

In real life, you may find yourself slinking slowly away from the person in an attempt to bring a discussion to a close. Why is it so difficult to end a conversation? First of all, you might want to omit an email signature. After all, don’t you want them to reply by email? If you include your phone number or your address, your are sending the signal that you welcome phone calls and visits. You know you don’t want to do that! Instead, just wrap up the message with a simple email closing. They shouldn’t be extravagant. If in doubt, “thanks” is almost always appropriate.

Which of these eight pointers will you try first? If you can master the art of effective emails, you can cultivate better relationships with others while simultaneously reducing the amount of physical interaction you have with them. What introvert could ask for anything more?