"Notwithstanding" as Formal Concession in Technical English
5 exercises — practise the formal concessive preposition "notwithstanding" in specs and governance docs.
0 / 5 completed
1 / 5
Which sentence correctly uses "notwithstanding" before a noun phrase to mean "despite"?
"Notwithstanding the failed health check, the deployment proceeded automatically" is correct: "notwithstanding" functions as a preposition meaning "despite", taking a noun phrase directly, with no extra linking word. Option B incorrectly inserts "of". Option C misuses "that" as if a clause were expected without the required verb, but even so "that" isn't paired with a bare noun phrase here. Option D wrongly places "notwithstanding" as an adjective before the noun.
2 / 5
Choose the sentence that correctly places "notwithstanding" after the noun phrase (a valid, more formal legal/technical-document style).
"This clause, the rollback policy notwithstanding, still requires manual sign-off" is correct: "notwithstanding" can follow its noun phrase, a pattern common in formal contracts and governance documents. Option B places it in the standard pre-noun position, which is also valid grammatically but doesn't match what the question asks for (post-position). Option C redundantly adds "that" after the noun phrase. Option D incorrectly inserts "of" in the post-position pattern.
3 / 5
Select the sentence that correctly uses "notwithstanding that" to introduce a full concessive clause.
"Notwithstanding that the migration passed all tests, the team scheduled a rollback window" is correct: "notwithstanding that" introduces a full finite clause, a formal alternative to "although". Option B omits "that", leaving "notwithstanding" incorrectly followed by a full clause as if it were a bare preposition. Option C uses the ungrammatical gerund "passing" instead of the finite verb. Option D redundantly inserts "of" before "that".
4 / 5
Which sentence correctly uses "notwithstanding" in a governance policy stating an exception still applies despite a general rule?
"...notwithstanding requests tagged as high-risk" is correct: "notwithstanding" takes the noun phrase "requests tagged as high-risk" directly, meaning those requests are an exception. Option B incorrectly adds "that" before a noun phrase without a following verb. Option C wrongly inserts "for". Option D misplaces "notwithstanding" inside the noun phrase, breaking its structure.
5 / 5
Choose the sentence that correctly distinguishes formal "notwithstanding" from the more common "despite"/"in spite of" in a compliance document.
"Notwithstanding the vendor's certification, the audit team independently verified the encryption settings" is correct: "notwithstanding" alone, directly before the noun phrase, is the correct formal equivalent of "despite"/"in spite of". Option B incorrectly adds "of". Option C redundantly stacks "despite" and "notwithstanding" together. Option D adds an unnecessary "that" after the post-positioned noun phrase.