Despite having been

Question

(1) "Despite having been cold, I didn't put my jacket on."

(2) "Despite being cold, I didn't put my jacket on."

Is the (1) sentence even possible to use from a grammatical point of view? If so, what would it suggest and what is the difference between those two sentences mentioned above?

I am not altogether sure whether "despite having been" even exists and if so, under what circumstances we could possibly use it.

Thanks in advance.

Anonymous · Accepted Answer

Only (2) is grammatically correct.

'I still want to answer questions here, despite having been unable to log on to the forum in the usual way for several days.'

Rover

CalifJim · Answer

MaroldIs the (1) sentence even possible to use from a grammatical point of view?

This is the easy question. From a grammatical point of view, yes.

MaroldIf so, what would it suggest and what is the difference between those two sentences mentioned above?

This is the tough question. It suggests something strange to my ear. The main clause establishes the past as the reference time.

"despite having been cold" suggests a state of coldness that either 1) started and ended at times before the reference time, or 2) started before the reference time and continued until the reference time.

I think that we native speakers might tend to consider 1) to be the more likely interpretation, and that doesn't make a lot of sense. It's like saying, "I had been cold at some earlier time( s ) in my life, but I didn't put my jacket on at a later time". I myself can't make sense of that. It's like saying, "I have seen that movie, but I am not going to see it today". The logic that connects the two clauses is tenuous at best.

If the writer had wanted us to use 2) as our interpretation, an adverb phrase would have been added, thus:

Despite having been cold [for the entire day / for several hours / for a long time], I didn't put my jacket on.

MaroldI am not altogether sure whether "despite having been" even exists

It exists. Despite having been rejected for the part three times, the actor finally got the role he wanted.

CJ

Tile slide 852 · Answer

"Despite having been cold, I didn't put my jacket on."

Despite having been

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