En este post, con Speak English Now, vamos a ver... How to get away with murder! ? Bueno, no te asustes, que no exactamente. Pero sí que vamos a aprender el correcto uso de despite adentrándonos en un courtroom (sala de un juzgado).
Como siempre, si estás enganchado a alguna serie de abogados inglesa... ¿a qué esperas para verla en inglés? ?
Para empezar, vamos a ver algunas palabras clave que, si ves Law & Order, tendrás más que controladas:
| fianza | bail | /beiol/ |
| jurado | jury | /chuuri/ |
| vista | hearing | /hhhiiring/ |
| testigo | witness | /uitnisss/ |
| fiscal | prosecutor | /prosekiuuta/ |
| defensa | defence | /difensss/ |
| veredicto | verdict | /vvveedikttt/ |
| pruebas | evidence | /evvvidensss/ |
| inocente | innocent | /inosenttt/ |
| culpable | guilty | /guilti/ |
| testificar | to testify | /tuu testifai/ |
Tenemos dos formas de decir a pesar de. La primera es despite, y la segunda in spite of. Puedes decir tanto Despite the verdict, I still think she's innocent como In spite of the verdict, I still think she's innocent. Ambas frases significan lo mismo: A pesar del veredicto, sigo pensando que ella es inocente.
Según leas en voz alta las siguientes frases, asegúrate de pronunciar despite así: /dissspaittt/; y in spite of todo seguido: /inssspaitttovvv/.
| A pesar de las pruebas, creemos que él es culpable. | Despite the evidence, we think he's guilty. |
| A pesar de los riesgos, él va a testificar. | Despite the risks, he's going to testify. |
| El testigo no estaba de acuerdo, a pesar de los testimonios previos. | The witness disagreed, despite the previous testimonies. |
| A pesar de las pruebas, la sospechosa fue declarada inocente. | In spite of the evidence, the suspect was found innocent. |
| A pesar de la opinión pública, la defensa cree que ella tiene posibilidades. | In spite of public opinion, the defence thinks he has a chance. |
| A pesar de que llevan treinta años casados, ella va a testificar contra su marido. | In spite of the fact that they've been married for thirty years, she's going to testify against her husband. |
Muchas veces usamos la estructura despite the fact that / in spite of the fact that + otra oración para expresar ideas más complejas. Por ejemplo: In spite of the fact that all the evidence was against her, she was found innocent of the crime ('A pesar de que todas las pruebas iban en su contra, fue declara inocente del crimen.')
Fuse it!
Fusiona las dos oraciones usando despite o inspite of the fact that:
| In the end he was found innocent. | All the evidence was against him. |
| In the end she was found guilty. | She had never commited a crime before that. |
| He didn't win the case. | He was a famous prosecutor. |
Grammar!
¿Qué frase es la correcta?
| In spite the verdict, he’s going to fight for another trial. |
| In spite of the verdict, he’s going to fight for another trial. |
| Despite of the verdict, he’s going to fight for another trial. |
A challenge!
Lee el siguiente texto con cuidado y en voz alta e intenta encontrar los SEIS ERRORES:
Suspect Arthur Bynes was found innocent of five crimes yesterday, in spite lots of evidence that suggested he robbed a local bank on Montgomery Street. Despite of a video that showed him stealing from the cash machines and despite of a testigent identifying him as the criminal, Bynes left the court yesterday a free man. Despite many people are protesting that he should go to jail, the judge declared that there was not enough evidence to prove Bynes guilty.