📖LearnModule 8 · Lesson 9 of 30Independent User · CEFR B2, first halfUnit 2 · La concesión
A pesar de, en lugar de
Module 8 of the free Spanish course (CEFR B2, first half), lesson 9 of 30: A pesar de means in spite of and takes a noun. On this page: 10 words with their genders and respellings, the rule, a watch-out line, the conjugation table and the audio — the study notes behind the workbook's QR.
The words
Spanish
English
Say it
a pesar de la lluvia
in spite of the rain
ah peh-SAR deh lah YOO-byah
la lluvia
the rain
lah YOO-byah
en lugar de
instead of
ehn loo-GAR deh
en vez de
rather than
ehn BEHS deh
quejarse
to complain
keh-HAR-seh
proponer
to put forward
proh-poh-NEHR
la solución
the solution
lah soh-loo-SYOHN
el error
the mistake
ehl eh-RROHR
prudente
cautious
proo-DEHN-teh
ellos se quejan mucho
they complain a lot
EH-yohs seh KEH-hahn MOO-choh
Respellings follow the course’s say-it key; the stressed syllable is in capitals. Print this lesson’s flashcards (PDF) — the words on the front, the English and respelling on the back.
La regla · The rule
A pesar de means in spite of and takes a noun, never a clause: a pesar de la lluvia, salimos. For a clause, add que — a pesar de que llovía. En lugar de means instead of and takes a noun or an infinitive: en lugar de quejarse, propuso una solución.
Y también · And also
En vez de is the everyday twin of en lugar de, and both are followed straight by an infinitive when the subject is the same: en vez de esperar, llamé. Quejarse (to complain) is reflexive and takes de: se quejan del ruido.
Ojo · Watch out
a pesar de takes a noun (a pesar de la lluvia); a pesar de que takes a clause. en lugar de and en vez de take a noun or an infinitive, never a conjugated verb: en vez de esperar, not en vez de espero.
quejarse, presente — the table
yo me quejo · tú te quejas · él/ella/usted se queja · nosotros nos quejamos · ustedes se quejan · ellos/ellas se quejan
Do it now — on paper
Say all 10 words aloud twice from the respelling, then once from the Spanish spelling alone — begin with a pesar de la lluvia.
Copy every word with its accents on paper; then cover the English column and write each meaning back from the Spanish.
Write out quejarse, presente in full from memory, every person, and check each form against the table above.
This free course is the reading half. The writing half — write-in lessons, daily practice pages with built-in review, self-checks and a full answer key — is the companion workbook series, The Spanish Ladder: one workbook per module, fifteen in all, released band by band with the Basic band (Modules 1–5) first.
Keep these words
Turn this lesson’s words into flashcards, then space your reviews — the two habits the research behind our study guides backs hardest.