A pesar de que me critiquen, no desistiré.
Despite the fact that they may criticize me, I won’t give up. 18.2.2 (p. 87)
Pese a, and pese a que, function like a pesar de and a pesar de que, respectively, and
have similar meanings, but are less colloquial.Pese a todo, estoy seguro de que no nos defraudará.
Despite/in spite of everything, I’m sure he/she will not disappoint us.Pese a la ausencia de mi madre, nos arreglamos muy bien.
In spite of my mother’s absence, we managed very well.Pese a no tener más de siete años, tocaba la guitarra perfectamente.
Despite the fact that he/she was only seven, he/she played the guitar
perfectly well.Pese a que le rogaron que aceptara el puesto, lo rechazó.
Despite the fact that they begged him/her to accept the job, he/she
rejected it.Pese a que me amenacen, no se los diré.
Despite the fact that they may threaten me. I will not tell them.52.1.6 No obstante
No obstante, ‘nevertheless’, ‘despite’, ‘in spite of’, is the most formal of the words used
in expressing contrast, and is found more often in written Spanish. It may function like
sin embargo (see 52.1.2 above), in sentences like the following:El país dispone de pocos recursos, no obstante (sin embargo)
el gasto público ha aumentado.
The country has few resources, nevertheless public expenditure has
increased.
Insistimos mucho, no obstante (sin embargo) se negó a aceptar.
We insisted very much, nevertheless he/she refused to accept.No obstante is also a more formal substitute for a pesar de and pese a (see 52.1.5
above).No obstante (a pesar de/pese a) la escasez de dinero ella logró educar
a sus hijos.
Despite/in spite of the shortage of money she managed to bring up her
children.No obstante (a pesar de/pese a) nuestras excusas rehusaron
perdonarnos.
Despite/in spite of our excuses they refused to forgive us.52.1.7 Other ways of expressing contrast or opposition
Other less common but more colloquial words and phrases used for expressing contrast
are the following, some of which can be replaced by the more common word aunque:Common expressions of contrast or opposition 52.1