The language, while allowing interaction between interlocutors (partners in the communication), causes doubts and even controversies, as scholars do not always agree on some rules.
Have you ever had doubts when using the prepositional phrase despite the? For example, the correct is: Although most are againstoralthough most are against? To answer this question, it is important to remember some concepts:
- The subject is one of the essential terms of the clause, therefore, it is not subordinated to any other term;
- The grammatical classes that gravitate (accompany) around the subject are: article, numeral, adjective and adjective pronoun, therefore, the preposition does not appear;
- The preposition is used to relate words, indicating that between them there is a subordinate relationship, for example: Wooden house.
Normative grammar does not accept that there is a contraction between the preposition and the article, if the term after the preposition exercises the function of subject. Therefore, the correct thing is "Although the majority is against", because
most is representing the subject of the sentence, so it is a mistake to use the contraction (although gives).Do not stop now... There's more after the advertising ;)
Follow some examples:
Although the crisis exists, the world will grow in the coming years.
Although the move is scheduled for tomorrow, working hours will be normal.
As stated earlier, there is often no consensus among experts. The use of contraction, when the next term functions as the subject, is an example of this. For some experts, this is a mistake, but Evanildo Bechara defends the idea that this is a euphony problem (harmonious sound), so using contraction or not should be a choice of speaker. However, normative grammar argues that contraction should not be used when the next term is subject.
By Mayra Pavan
Graduated in Letters
Would you like to reference this text in a school or academic work? Look:
PAVAN, Mayra Gabriella de Rezende. "In spite of the or of a?"; Brazil School. Available in: https://brasilescola.uol.com.br/gramatica/apesar-ou-a.htm. Accessed on June 27, 2021.
