That day is today.

& #39;Despite& #39; and & #39;although& #39; are both used to show contrasts, but & #39;despite& #39; is used with nouns, and & #39;although& #39; is used with subject/verb pairs.

Enter my bête noire: the fake gerund https://twitter.com/incrediblemelk/status/1316342799617257472">https://twitter.com/incredibl...

Gerunds are the noun form of verbs that end in -ing & signify that verb as a habit or practice.

I love editing (gerund) = I love to edit (verb)

But people often force a subject/verb into a fake gerund to make it work like a noun, when the verb needs to be free to verb!

The classic example of this is the & #39;with-clause& #39;, with journalists loving it but Mel hating it

And people misuse & #39;despite& #39; in a similar way!

Despite it raining, we had a great time
Despite Foxtel launching early, it failed
Despite us not agreeing, Mel is right

We sense that & #39;despite& #39; needs a noun, so we make a fake gerund to force our verb to act like a noun.

But there& #39;s still a subject lurking in here! A true, pure & #39;despite& #39; construction only needs a noun!

Despite THE RAIN, WE had a great time

See how the true subject pops now?

You could also fix a & #39;despite-clause& #39; by swapping & #39;despite& #39; for & #39;although& #39;:

Although it rained, we had a great time
Although Foxtel launched early, it failed
Although we don& #39;t agree, Mel is right

This revives your verb! It becomes the verb in a subordinate clause

You can still use a gerund with & #39;despite& #39; – just not a fake one!

Despite having a headache, I had a great time
Despite running, they missed the train
Despite being dead, he& #39;d never felt so alive