Breakdown of L'espion garde son alias en dépit de la surveillance.
son
his/her/its (son, sa, ses)
garder
to keep
l'espion
the spy (m)
en dépit de
in spite of
la surveillance
the surveillance
l'alias
the alias (m)
Questions & Answers about L'espion garde son alias en dépit de la surveillance.
What is the difference between en dépit de and malgré in this sentence?
In terms of meaning, they are identical; both mean "despite" or "in spite of". However, en dépit de is slightly more formal and literary than malgré. Notice that both of these prepositions must be followed by a noun phrase (like la surveillance), never a conjugated verb.
Would the de in en dépit de change if the noun wasn't feminine singular like la surveillance?
Could I follow en dépit de with a verb instead of a noun, to say "in spite of being watched"?
No, en dépit de can only be followed by a noun or a pronoun. If you want to use a conjugated verb to express the same idea, you need to switch to a conjunction like bien que (even though) followed by a verb in the subjunctive mood, for example: bien qu'il soit surveillé.
Is the final "s" in alias pronounced?
Yes, it is! Even though French usually drops final consonants, alias is a word borrowed directly from Latin, so it keeps its final "s" sound. You must also make a mandatory liaison between the "n" in son and the "a" in alias.
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