TOEIC Link Part 5: despite, in spite of, although, and though

Concession is one of the most common relationships Part 5 tests, because it lets the question writer line up four words that all mean roughly the same thing and dare you to pick by meaning alone. Despite, in spite of, although, and though all say the same thing in plain terms: one fact is true, and a surprising or opposite result happens anyway. The catch is that they are not interchangeable. Two of them are prepositions and must be followed by a noun; two of them are conjunctions and must be followed by a full clause. Once you can tell which structure follows the blank, the four-way choice collapses to one.

Two families, one meaning

Every concession word in this set belongs to one of two grammatical families, and the family decides what is allowed to follow it.

• Prepositions of concession: despite and in spite of. These behave like any preposition — they must be followed by a noun, a pronoun, or a gerund. Despite the delay, the shipment arrived. They proceeded in spite of the warnings.
• Conjunctions of concession: although and though. These introduce a subordinate clause — a unit with its own subject and verb. Although the shipment was delayed, it arrived. They proceeded though they had been warned.

The meanings are nearly identical; the grammar is not. The single most reliable thing you can do on these questions is ignore the meaning at first and look only at what comes after the blank. A noun calls for a preposition; a subject-plus-verb calls for a conjunction.

The structure test: noun or clause?

Read across the blank and ask one question — is the next chunk a noun phrase or a full clause?

( __ ) the heavy rain, the outdoor event continued as scheduled.

After the blank comes the heavy rain, a noun phrase with no verb of its own. That demands a preposition, so the answer is Despite or In spite of — not Although, which would need a verb to follow.

Now compare:

( __ ) it was raining heavily, the outdoor event continued as scheduled.

Here the blank is followed by it was raining — a subject and a verb, a complete clause. That demands a conjunction: Although or Though. Slotting Despite in front of a full clause is a classic Part 5 wrong answer, because despite it was raining is ungrammatical. The structure, not the meaning, rules out two of the four choices instantly.

The "of" detail that trips people up

The single most common error with this set is writing despite of. Despite already contains the meaning of in spite of, so it never takes of:

• ✓ Despite the cost
• ✓ In spite of the cost
• ✗ Despite of the cost

Part 5 sometimes plants despite of as a distractor that looks reassuringly close to in spite of. Treat the bare presence of of after despite as an automatic disqualifier. This kind of fixed-form trap is exactly what we cover in the guide to verb and preposition collocations, where the correct particle is the whole point of the question.

Despite the fact that: bridging the two families

What if the idea after the blank is naturally a clause, but the sentence seems to want despite? English has a built-in bridge: add the fact that to turn a clause into something a preposition can govern.

Despite the fact that the budget was tight, the team hit every milestone.

Despite still takes a noun — and the fact that the budget was tight is a noun phrase built around fact. Part 5 occasionally tests this longer form, and the logic is the same: the preposition needs a noun, and the fact that... supplies one. You will not usually need to produce this in the test, but recognizing it keeps you from thinking despite can suddenly take a clause on its own.

Though at the end of a sentence

Though has one extra job the others do not share: it can sit at the end of a sentence as an adverb meaning however.

The price was high. We bought it, though.

Here though is not joining two clauses; it is tagged on at the end to signal a contrast with what came before. Although cannot do this — ✗ We bought it, although is wrong. Part 5 rarely tests the sentence-final use directly, but knowing it exists prevents you from second-guessing a correct though when it shows up in an unfamiliar position.

Position and the comma

Concession words can open a sentence or sit in the middle, and the punctuation follows the same rule as other adverbial elements. When the concession element comes first, a comma separates it from the main clause:

Although the figures were disappointing, management stayed optimistic.

When it comes second, the comma usually disappears:

Management stayed optimistic although the figures were disappointing.

Part 5 questions about concession almost always turn on the connector itself rather than the comma, but if a question gives you a punctuated front half, the comma confirms that an adverbial clause or phrase is in play — another signal you are choosing among these four words. The same front-loaded-modifier logic governs the participle structures explained in the guide to participle clauses and reduced relative clauses.

A two-step method for the test

When a Part 5 blank offers you a concession word, run this short routine instead of reading for meaning:

1. Look at what immediately follows the blank. If it is a noun, pronoun, or gerund, you need a preposition — despite or in spite of. If it is a subject plus a verb, you need a conjunction — although or though.
2. Eliminate the form traps. Cross out despite of on sight. If two valid choices remain (e.g., both despite and in spite of fit a noun), the test will have left only one of them in the options, so the structure step has already done the real work.

This two-step approach turns a seemingly subtle vocabulary question into a quick structural check. You are not deciding which word "feels" most concessive — all four are equally concessive. You are deciding whether the blank is followed by a noun or a clause, and that single observation eliminates half the choices every time.

Practice the recognition

Build a few sentences of your own that pair the same idea two ways — once with a preposition and once with a conjunction:

• Despite the short notice, attendance was high. / Although the notice was short, attendance was high.
• In spite of the competition, sales grew. / Though they faced stiff competition, sales grew.

Writing the pairs side by side trains your eye to see that the meaning holds steady while the grammar flips between noun and clause. On test day, that is the only distinction Part 5 is really asking you to make.