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. Choose the correct options.
She is weak, but she is courageous. (Begin: Despite..........)
Topic: Transformation — 'despite'
Try it
Pick an option and check your answer. The full worked answer is below either way.
Answer
(b) Despite being weak, she is courageous..
Two points decide this.
FIRST, THE FORM. It is "DESPITE", never "despite of" — that is option (a) and it is the commonest error in this construction. The confusion comes from "IN SPITE OF", which does take "of". Learn them as a pair: despite + noun or -ing form in spite of + noun or -ing form Never "despite of".
SECOND, WHAT FOLLOWS. "Despite" must be followed by a noun or a GERUND (-ing form), not by a bare adjective. So "Despite BEING weak" is correct and option (d), "Despite weak", is not.
Option (c) swaps the two qualities, making her not weak instead of courageous — a change of meaning, which the instruction expressly forbids.
Despite being weak, she is courageous..