par spīti / neskatoties uz
Despite
Both phrases mean despite. Par spīti lietum, mēs devāmies pastaigā. (Despite the rain, we went for a walk.) Neskatoties uz grūtībām, projekts tika pabeigts laikā. (Despite the difficulties, the project was finished on time.)
How It Works
1. Par spīti + dative. Spīts means stubbornness or spite, and par spīti means despite or in defiance of:
- Par spīti lietum, mēs devāmies pastaigā. (Despite the rain, we went for a walk.)
- Par spīti vēlajai stundai, veikals vēl bija atvērts. (Despite the late hour, the shop was still open.)
The dative word can also come first: visam par spīti (in spite of everything). With a person, it means to spite someone: Viņš to izdarīja man par spīti. (He did it to spite me.)
2. Neskatoties uz + accusative or dative. Neskatoties means not looking, so the phrase means without looking at. Its uz takes the accusative in the singular, as in skatīties uz jūru (to look at the sea), and the dative in the plural (see plural nouns after prepositions):
- singular accusative: Viņš atnāca uz darbu, neskatoties uz slimību. (He came to work despite his illness.)
- plural dative: Neskatoties uz grūtībām, projekts tika pabeigts laikā. (Despite the difficulties, the project was finished on time.)
Neraugoties uz has the same meaning and pattern.
Style note. Neskatoties uz and neraugoties uz are in dictionaries and very common. Official style guides still prefer lai gan, kaut arī or tomēr in careful writing, because they treat these two phrases as copied from other languages.
3. With a clause. Neskatoties uz to, ka introduces a whole fact: Neskatoties uz to, ka bija auksts, bērni peldējās. (Even though it was cold, the children went swimming.) A shorter way is lai gan; see lai gan and kaut gan.
4. Commas. When the phrase opens the sentence, it is often set off with a comma, as in these examples.
Examples (6)
- Par spīti lietum, mēs devāmies pastaigā.
Despite the rain, we went for a walk.
Word by Word: In spite to-rain, we went on-walk.
- Par spīti vēlajai stundai, veikals vēl bija atvērts.
Despite the late hour, the shop was still open.
Word by Word: In spite to-the-late hour, shop still was open.
- Viņš to izdarīja man par spīti.
He did it to spite me.
Word by Word: He it did to-me in spite.
With a person, par spīti means to spite someone.
- Viņš atnāca uz darbu, neskatoties uz slimību.
He came to work despite his illness.
Word by Word: He came to work, not-looking at illness.
Slimību is accusative singular after uz.
- Neskatoties uz grūtībām, projekts tika pabeigts laikā.
Despite the difficulties, the project was finished on time.
Word by Word: Not-looking at difficulties, project was finished in-time.
Grūtībām is dative plural after uz.
- Neskatoties uz to, ka bija auksts, bērni peldējās.
Even though it was cold, the children went swimming.
Word by Word: Not-looking at that, that was cold, children swam.
Common Mistakes
Using the accusative after par spīti.
Par spīti lietu, mēs devāmies pastaigā.Par spīti lietum, mēs devāmies pastaigā.Par spīti takes the dative: lietum. The accusative belongs after neskatoties uz, not after par spīti.
Using the accusative plural after neskatoties uz.
Neskatoties uz grūtības, projekts tika pabeigts laikā.Neskatoties uz grūtībām, projekts tika pabeigts laikā.Neskatoties uz ends in uz, and uz takes the dative in the plural: grūtībām.
How It Connects
Learn This First
Par spīti and neskatoties uz mean despite.
Related Patterns
Words in This Pattern
Practice par spīti / neskatoties uz in Bubblegum
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