Breakdown of A pesar de que pueden ver la costa, los marineros no descansan.
no
no, not
ver
to see / to look / appear
los
the (masculine plural)
descansar
to rest
poder
to be able to / can
a pesar de que
even though / despite the fact that (stronger concession)
la costa
the coast
el marinero
the sailor
Questions & Answers about A pesar de que pueden ver la costa, los marineros no descansan.
Why is pueden in the indicative rather than the subjunctive?
A pesar de que can take either mood. We use the indicative (pueden) to state a known, established fact: the sailors actually can see the coast right now. If it were a hypothetical situation or a future unknown ('Even if they were able to see...'), we would use the subjunctive.
Could I drop the que and just say a pesar de ver la costa?
Yes! Because the subject is the same in both halves of the sentence (the sailors are the ones seeing and the ones not resting), you can drop que and just use the infinitive. A pesar de ver la costa translates perfectly to 'In spite of seeing the coast.'
What is the difference between a pesar de que and aunque?
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