13

I was doing a grammar practice where we are to correct the grammatical error without changing the meaning when I came across this sentence:

Despite no one was hurt in this incident, about 70 shark attacks take place every year worldwide, some of which is fatal.

I changed was to being. However when I checked the answer sheet, the word changed was despite to although. Am I necessarily wrong here?

Improve this question
10
  • 7
    Your suggested change results in a grammatical sentence. However, if the intention of the test was to check your learning of the correct use of conjunctions, then 'although' would be the answer desired. You missed another error: 'which is fatal' should be 'which are fatal', since 'accidents' is a plural noun.
    – Michael Harvey
    Oct 10, 2022 at 7:54
  • 4
    I think your version makes sense; you could also say Despite the fact that no-one was hurt. However, although makes the sentence simpler and easier to understand. NB It should be are fatal.
    – Kate Bunting
    Oct 10, 2022 at 7:58
  • @MichaelHarvey Thanks. By the way, this is not a question from a random grammar book; It was a question set by Cambridge in the past. How do you think they will mark this then? So there are two answers?
    – rain soupreme
    Oct 10, 2022 at 16:13
  • 13
    Your version is grammatical, but it doesn't really make sense. The 70 shark attacks don't really happen despite the lack of hurt in the described incident. Using although here is a better way of showing the contrast between the lack of hurt this time and the fact that sometimes, sharks kill people.
    – Dawood ibn Kareem
    Oct 10, 2022 at 20:22
  • @DawoodibnKareem But what if I say that since despite means 'without being affected by,' we can say that this incident's happenings is an anomaly and is not affected, as it is an isolated incident, by the fact that shark attacks happen more frequently than thought according to statistics. I feel like if we really push the envelope, despite is also valid?
    – rain soupreme
    Oct 11, 2022 at 10:17

2 Answers 2

Reset to default
22

Your edit is grammatical and natural. The creator of the practice questions intended for you to fix "despite", but you found a different way to correct it that they didn't anticipate.

Improve this answer
3
  • But is "was" wrong? So, was the change from "was" to "being" an actual correction? (Non-native speaker here...)
    – Eike
    Oct 11, 2022 at 10:43
  • 7
    Yes, "despite ... was" is wrong.
    – equin0x80
    Oct 11, 2022 at 10:59
  • 1
    @Eike Yes, "despite" is a preposition, so requires a noun object.
    – gotube ♦
    Oct 11, 2022 at 18:43
11

You are not wrong. Both are correct. 'Despite' is a preposition and 'Although' is a conjunction.

We can use Despite + (verb + ing).

We use Although + clause

Despite no one being hurt in this incident, about 70 shark attacks take place every year worldwide, some of which are fatal.

Although no one was hurt in this incident, about 70 shark attacks take place every year worldwide, some of which are fatal.

Improve this answer
13
  • 7
    I'd add: Despite the fact that no one was hurt in this incident, about 70 shark attacks take place every year worldwide, some of which are fatal.
    – Darrel Hoffman
    Oct 10, 2022 at 18:50
  • 3
    Or just Despite that no one was hurt...
    – Lee Mosher
    Oct 10, 2022 at 20:05
  • 1
    Or, “Even though no one was hurt, ....”
    – Davislor
    Oct 10, 2022 at 23:09
  • 2
    Also, you changed "which is fatal" to "which are fatal"
    – justhalf
    Oct 11, 2022 at 11:28
  • 2
    @LeeMosher: "Despite that" sounds completely wrong to me (a Brit). Perhaps it's a North American usage?
    – TonyK
    Oct 11, 2022 at 18:09

You must log in to answer this question.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged .