phrase usage - despite / in spite of?



I could not sleep ____ very tired .


Here, I tried:



  1. I could not sleep despite I was very tired .

  2. I could not sleep in spite of very tired


Which one is correct?



Answer



There is a thread on this on the English Language Learners site, here.


Also, neither of these works in your sentence. You need to say "in spite of the fact that I was very tried" or "despite the fact that I was very tired".


You could also say "I could not sleep although I was very tired".


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