Look at these sentences:
Malgré la pluie, nous sommes quand même sortis.
Despite the rain, we still went out.
Je l'aime malgré moi.
I love her in spite of myself.
Il l'a fait en dépit de lui-même.
He did it in spite of himself.
Malgré les conseils de ma mère, je demeurais indécis.
Despite my mother's advice, I remained undecided.
En dépit des conseils de ma mère, je demeurais indécis.
In spite of my mother's advice, I remained undecided.
NOTE that just like in English despite [someone/something] and in spite of [someone/something] are interchangeable, so in French you can use either malgré [quelque chose/quelqu'un] or en dépit de [quelque chose/quelqu'un].
The preposition malgré is closer to despite, whereas the expression en dépit de is closer to in spite of.
When it comes to people (e.g. despite myself), you can either use:
- malgré + moi/toi/elle/lui/nous/vous/elles/eux
OR
- en dépit de + moi-même/toi-même/elle-même/lui-même/nous-mêmes/vous-mêmes/eux-mêmes/elles-mêmes.
Special cases
- The expression en dépit du bon sens means against all common sense.
- In some cases, the expression malgré tout (despite everything) can also mean anyway.
Learn more about these related French grammar topics
Examples and resources
Je l'ai suivi malgré moi.
I followed him in spite of myself.
Malgré tout, il a finalement réussi.
Despite everything, he finally succeeded.
Je l'ai suivi en dépit de moi-même.
I followed him in spite of myself.
Je le ferai malgré tout.
I will do it anyway.
Il l'a fait en dépit de lui-même.
He did it in spite of himself.
Je l'aime malgré moi.
I love her in spite of myself.
En dépit des conseils de ma mère, je demeurais indécis.
In spite of my mother's advice, I remained undecided.
Malgré la pluie, nous sommes quand même sortis.
Despite the rain, we still went out.
Il l'a vendu en dépit du bon sens.
He sold it against all common sense.
Malgré les conseils de ma mère, je demeurais indécis.
Despite my mother's advice, I remained undecided.
Q&A
Laura
Kwiziq language super star
5/09/16
Bonjour Jennifer,
As the lesson states:
or people (e.g. despite myself), you can either use: - malgré + moi/toi/elle/lui/nous/vous/elles/eux
OR
en dépit de + moi-même/toi-même/elle-même/lui-même/nous-mêmes/vous-mêmes/eux-mêmes/elles-mêmes
So because the question had "elle" the correct answer can only be malgré. For en dépit de to be correct, you'd have to use elle-même.
Jennifer
Kwiziq community member
5/09/16
Jennifer
Kwiziq community member
5/09/16
Robert
Kwiziq community member
13 August 2018
1 reply
So is this test question response: "Malgré la fumée, il commença à mieux respirer." a time when we should use passé simple when saying something?
Chris
Kwiziq community member
14 August 2018
14/08/18
Hi Robert,
unfortunately this is impossible to tell out of context.
The passé simple is only used in literary French and practically never in spoken French. It is used when you are talking about an action which happened in the past, whose consequences are also contained in the past and don't extend to the present. Also, it indicates usually that the action happened at a certain time An example would be a story or fairy tale, "Once upon a time there lived a kind...."
The passé composé has all but replaced the passé simple. However, in deciding between the two you would tend to use passé composé for actions in the past which happen at an indefinite or unspecified time and whose results extend into the present.
J'ai trop mangé ce midi. -- I ate too much at noon.
Il a emprunté une importante somme d'argent. -- He borrowed an important sum of money.
La bataille de Marignan eut lieu en 1515. -- The battle of Marignon took place in 1515.
Jean se leva, sortit de la pièce et ne revint plus. -- Jean got up, left the room and didn't return anymore.
-- Chris