Concessive Clauses with "Apesar de"
To say "despite" or "in spite of", use apesar de followed by the Personal Infinitive (Infinitivo Pessoal).
Use the Personal Infinitive when the subject after apesar de is different from the subject of the main clause. Add these endings directly to the infinitive:
| Subject | Ending | Example (ser) |
|---|---|---|
| eu / ele / ela / você | (none) | ser |
| tu | -es | seres |
| nós | -mos | sermos |
| eles / elas / vocês | -em | serem |
When the new subject includes a definite article (like o porto), do not contract the preposition de with the article. They must remain separate (de o, de a, de os, de as) because the article belongs to the subject of the infinitive.
| The ship leaves now, despite the port being closed. | O navio sai agora, apesar de o porto estar fechado. |
| Despite the waves being huge, the sailors are not afraid. | Apesar de as ondas serem enormes, os marinheiros não têm medo. |
When the new subject is plural, the verb takes the eles / elas / vocês ending -em:
| Despite the sailors pulling up the anchor, the ship does not leave. | Apesar de os marinheiros puxarem a âncora, o navio não parte. |
If the subject of the apesar de clause is an implied pronoun like nós (we), just conjugate the verb directly after the preposition:
| Despite us washing the deck, the oars are dirty. | Apesar de lavarmos o convés, os remos estão sujos. |
Your questions are stored by us to improve Elon.io