Re-write the following sentences according to the instructions given after each. Make other changes that may be necessary, but do not change the meaning of each sentence.
In spite of the very hot weather, Kevin stepped out to buy some bread. (Begin: Despite....)
Topic: Transformation — 'despite'
Answer
Despite the very hot weather, Kevin stepped out to buy some bread.
"In spite of" and "despite" mean exactly the same thing, and the conversion is a straight substitution — with ONE critical difference: IN SPITE OF + noun DESPITE + noun (NO "of") Writing "Despite OF the very hot weather" is the single commonest error in this construction, and it happens because the "of" belongs to the phrase being replaced.
Nothing else in the sentence changes. A transformation alters the STRUCTURE only, never the tense or the meaning, so "stepped out to buy some bread" stays exactly as it was.
Remember also that DESPITE is followed by a noun or a gerund, never by a full clause: "despite being warned", not "despite he was warned".