In your examples, "despite" seems to be a preposition with gerund phrases
for objects.

> ----------
> From:         Richard Veit, UNCW English Department
> Reply To:     Assembly for the Teaching of English Grammar
> Sent:         Monday, May 21, 2001 6:48 PM
> To:   [log in to unmask]
> Subject:      Fwd: Re: Verb aspect and ellipsis
>
> >From: [log in to unmask]
> >Subject: Re: Verb aspect and ellipsis
> >
> >Elliptical clauses come from "be-deletion" and if there is no form of the
> >verb "to be"
> >in the underlying clause, there's nothing to (ahem!) 'ellipt.'
>
> How then do we account for the following sentences?
>
> (1) She raised three children despite working two jobs.
> (2) She raised three children despite having worked two jobs.
>
> There do not seem to be corresponding sentences with underlying "to be":
>
> (3) *She raised three children despite she was working two jobs.
> (4) *She raised three children despite she was having worked two jobs.
>
> Dick Veit
>
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