Misunderstanding over the use of "Despite"
Hello,
Recently I sent an essay to a native English teacher for correction. This is a small part of what I sent:
It is argued by some that adolescence is the happiest period of life, while others believe that adulthood is when people feel more content than ever before, despite more responsibility.
However, he edited the text this way:
It is argued by some that adolescence is the happiest period of life, whileothers believe that adulthood is when people feel more content than ever before, despite having more responsibility.
Is it grammatically incorrect what I wrote? If so, why? Is there any difference between the meaning of two sentences? if so, what?
Thank you.
Top answer
" I can't say exactly why your version is wrong, but it is. Maybe "more responsibility" finds nothing to attach to syntactically, and it is not parallel with the contrasting "feel more content". " That is not a good sentence, but it works because the people "have" the two things.
- " I can't say exactly why your version is wrong, but it is.
- Maybe "more responsibility" finds nothing to attach to syntactically, and it is not parallel with the contrasting "feel more content".
- " That is not a good sentence, but it works because the people "have" the two things.
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Some would say that it's still ungrammatical in the same way, and it should be "It is argued by some that adolescence is the happiest period of life, while others believe that adulthood is when people feel more content than ever before, despite their having more responsibility." I can't say exactly why your version is wrong, but it is. Maybe "more responsibility" finds nothing to attach
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