и покрај + Noun

Despite with a Noun

Level 4Sounds Like i pokraǰ + imenka

И покрај + noun = despite, in spite of: И покрај дождот, излеговме. (Despite the rain, we went out.)

How It Works

What can follow.

  • a noun: и покрај дождот (despite the rain), и покрај сите проблеми (despite all the problems)
  • тоа, for something already said: И покрај тоа, не се откажа. (Despite that, he did not give up.)
  • сѐ: И покрај сѐ, среќна сум. (Despite everything, I am happy.)

Why и? Покрај on its own usually means "beside" or "besides": Седни покрај мене. (Sit beside me.) Adding и makes the meaning "despite" clear. You may still meet покрај alone with this meaning, but the form with и is more common.

Position. The phrase can start the sentence, followed by a comma, or come at the end: Излеговме и покрај дождот.

With a verb. Before a clause, use и покрај тоа што or иако: И покрај тоа што врнеше, излеговме.

Similar phrases. For a cause rather than an obstacle, use поради: Поради дождот, останавме дома. (Because of the rain, we stayed at home.) For "regardless of", see без оглед на.

Examples (5)

  1. И покрај дождот, излеговме на прошетка.

    Despite the rain, we went out for a walk.

    Word by Word: And beside rain-the, we-went-out on walk.

  2. Отиде на работа и покрај болката во грлото.

    She went to work despite her sore throat.

    Word by Word: Went to work and beside pain-the in throat-the.

  3. И покрај сите проблеми, фирмата успеа.

    Despite all the problems, the company succeeded.

    Word by Word: And beside all problems, firm-the succeeded.

  4. Му реков да не оди, но и покрај тоа, тој отиде.

    I told him not to go, but he went anyway.

    Word by Word: To-him I-said to not go, but and beside that, he went.

    И покрај тоа points back to the first half of the sentence.

  5. И покрај сѐ, среќна сум.

    Despite everything, I am happy.

    Word by Word: And beside everything, happy I-am.

    Среќна is feminine because the speaker is a woman.

Common Mistakes

  • Using иако before a noun.

    Иако дождот, излеговме.
    И покрај дождот, излеговме.

    Иако must be followed by a clause with a verb. Before a noun, use и покрај.

  • Putting a verb directly after и покрај.

    И покрај врнеше, излеговме.
    И покрај тоа што врнеше, излеговме.

    И покрај is followed by a noun. To add a clause with a verb, use и покрај тоа што.

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

и покрај + NounLevel 4Despite with a Noun

Learn This First

Despite with a noun follows и покрај тоа што.

Words in This Pattern

и покрајпокрај