Breakdown of Несмотря на дождь, мы пошли в кино.
дождь
rain
мы
we
кино
cinema
пойти
to go (perfective, on foot) / to start (of rain, snow)
несмотря на
despite (+ noun)
Questions & Answers about Несмотря на дождь, мы пошли в кино.
The lesson is about 'несмотря на то, что', but this sentence just says 'несмотря на'. What is the difference?
Несмотря на is a preposition used directly before a noun, like дождь (rain) here. It translates to 'despite' or 'in spite of'. You use the longer phrase несмотря на то, что (despite the fact that) when you want to introduce a whole new clause with its own subject and verb (for example, 'Despite the fact that it was raining').
What case is дождь in here, and why doesn't its ending change?
The preposition несмотря на always requires the Accusative case. Because дождь is a masculine inanimate noun, its Accusative form looks exactly the same as its dictionary (Nominative) form.
Is несмотря related to the verb смотреть (to look)?
Yes! Literally, несмотря на дождь means 'not looking at the rain.' Over time, this word evolved from describing a literal physical action into a standard preposition meaning 'despite'.
Why use the perfective verb пошли here instead of шли or ходили?
Пошли (from пойти) focuses on the result of a single, specific trip: 'we set off and went to the cinema.' Шли would mean you were in the process of walking there when something else happened, and ходили is generally used for repeated trips ('we used to go') or to emphasize that you went and have already returned.
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