in spite of

In spite of is used as a preposition. In spite of + noun means more or less the same as although + clause.

• We went out in spite of the rain. (= … although it was raining.)
• We understood him in spite of his accent. (= … although he had a strong accent.)

In spite of is the opposite of because of. Compare:

• She passed her exams in spite of her terrible teacher.
• She passed her exams because of her wonderful teacher.

In spite of can be followed by an -ing form.

• In spite of having a headache I enjoyed the film.

In spite of cannot be followed directly by a that-clause. Instead, we can use in spite of the fact that.

• He is good company, in spite of the fact that he talks all the time.

This is rather heavy: although means the same, and is more common.

In more formal English, despite can be used in the same way as in spite of.