In spite of his many shortcomings, he is a nice guy.

尽管他有许多缺点，但他还是个好人。

in spite of表示尽管，不管;整个in spite of其实可用一个despite来替换，意思一样。

despite his many shortcomings,he is a nice guy.

He went to work in spite of his illness.(当中的in spite of也可改为despite)

尽管生病,他还是去工作。