Concessive prepositions (несмотря на)

Performing stand-up comedy can be terrifying. When you want to talk about pushing through stage fright or hecklers, you will need concessive prepositions to express doing something despite or regardless of the obstacles.

Несмотря на + Accusative Case

The most common way to say "despite" or "in spite of" is несмотря на. It functions as a preposition and always takes the Accusative case.

Невзирая на + Accusative Case

A slightly more formal synonym is невзирая на ("regardless of"). It also takes the Accusative case and is often used to emphasize pushing through serious resistance, like booing (свист) or shouting (выкрики).

Regardless of the loud booing, she came out to the microphone.
Невзирая на громкий свист, она вышла к микрофону.
The comedian joked, regardless of the shouts from the hall.
Комик шутил, невзирая на выкрики из зала.
He is afraid of bombing, regardless of his experience.
Он боится провалиться, невзирая на опыт.

"No Matter What": Question Word + ни

Another way to express concession is with phrases like "no matter what" or "no matter who." Pair a question word (like что or кто) with the particle ни right before the verb.

Whatever the audience shouts, the comedian does not leave the stage.
Что ни кричит публика, комик не уходит со сцены.