[Grammar] "Despite having..."

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kilroy65

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Jan 20, 2016
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Bulgaria
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English Teacher
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Bulgarian
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The following sentence can be found in several websites and online tutorials as an illustration of the usage of "despite":

"Despite having all the necessary qualifications, they didn't offer me the job."

I think there's something downright illogical about it. It is as if "they" had all the necessary qualifications which is clearly not the intended meaning. It seems to me that it is a misplaced clause improperly separated from the word it describes ("me").


Wouldn't it be better to say: "Despite having all the necessary qualifications, I wasn't offered the job.", or: "Despite the fact that I had all the necessary qualifications, they didn't offer me the job."?
 
Yes, or: "Despite my having all the necessary qualifications..."
 
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