The words for, during, and while can all be used to talk about time. Their meanings can be similar and easy to confuse. In this blog post, I’ll explain the difference and show you the grammar rules for using these three words with lots of natural examples. Keep reading.
| FOR – is used with a period of time to show how long something happens |
| “I waited at the restaurant for one and a half hours.” |
| DURING – is used with a time to say when something happens |
| “I took some great photos during my trip.” |
| WHILE – shows when something happens at the same time as something else is happening |
| “I fell asleep while I was watching TV.” |
*During and While have similar meanings but they are used with different grammar.
During is used with nouns and While is used with a subject and a verb.
For – meaning
There are many ways to use the preposition for. Here’s the meaning that is related to time and sometimes confused with the words during and while.
FOR – preposition – used to show a length of time
FOR is sometimes used with a period of time to show how long something happens
・“I lived in Tokyo for 11 years.”
During – meaning
During is also a preposition that is used to say when something happens.
DURING – preposition – all through a period of time
During is followed by a noun.
・ “I was so tired. I fell asleep during the movie.”
While – meaning
While is a conjunction so the grammar is different than during but the meaning is similar.
WHILE – conjunction – during the time that something is happening; at the same time as something else is happening
While is followed by a subject and a verb.
・“I fell asleep while I was watching the movie.”
What is the difference between for and during?
| FOR is used to show how long something happens. ・”I stayed in Hawaii for 10 days.” |
| DURING is used to show when something happens. ・”I watched 2 movies during the flight to Hawaii.” |
Compare these examples and please notice that for is followed by an amount of time and during will be followed by a noun or a noun phrase.
- I studied math for 2 hours last night.
- I fell asleep during math class.
More examples with FOR and DURING:
- Eric has been busy for the last 3 weeks, he hasn’t had much free time.
- Eric is busy during the week, he doesn’t have much free time.
I waited for 40 minutes because the bus was late. I played games on my smartphone during that time.
What is the difference between during and while?
| DURING is used with a noun or noun phrase. ・I watched 2 movies during the flight to Hawaii.” |
| WHILE is used with a subject and a verb. ・I watched 2 movies while I was flying to Hawaii.” |
We use the words during and while to explain when something happens, but how we use these words is different.
As we read above during is a preposition and while is a conjunction.
The preposition during will be followed by a noun.
“I fell asleep during math class.”
Math class is the noun in the sentence. (Math class is a noun phrase, the noun math becomes an adjective when it describes the noun class. When nouns are paired with other nouns the first noun will become an adjective describing the use or purpose of the second noun. For example a pair of tennis shoes, a winter hat etc.)
The conjunction while will be followed by a subject and a verb.
“I fell asleep while my math teacher was talking.”
The subject of this sentence is my math teacher. The verb in this sentence is the past continuous tense verb was talking.
More examples with DURING and WHILE:
- We brought some sandwiches to eat during the long train ride. (The long train ride is a noun phrase.)
- We brought some sandwiches to eat while we were on the train. (We is the subject and were is the verb.)
How do I use during?
With time expressions, you can use IN instead of DURING to give the same message.
It is very humid during the summer.
It is very humid in the summer.
Using IN is the most natural in these examples.
I will have time to meet you during the afternoon. ( Not natural)
I will have time to meet you in the afternoon. (Natural)
Donny likes to go grocery shopping during the morning before the store gets busy. (Not natural)
Donny likes to go grocery shopping in the morning before the store gets busy. (Natural)
We don’t use in when we use the noun time or to talk about a trip or a vacation. During is the best fit when we talk about these things.
I made many new friends during my time in Australia.
I made many new friends during my trip to Australia.
I made many new friends during my holiday in Australia.
Where do we use while?
Here are some common examples where it’s natural to use while.
- Why don’t you come with me to the mall? You can get a haircut while I go shopping.
- While you’re out the sales manager called. He wants to talk to you.
- Everyone went to the movies while Jim stayed home to study for his exam.
- Kevin asked me to watch his apartment while he’s in Italy.
FOR, DURING, and WHILE quiz
During Vs. While AUDIO
Audio transcript here
Conclusion
A blog is great because people can study anywhere, anytime with their smartphones. My students like to study this blog during their train ride to work. They can study for 20 or 30 minutes while they commute. Write your own comment below using this grammar!
SoundCloud audio transcript
We use the words during and while to explain when something happens.
I fell asleep during math class.
I fell asleep while my math teacher was talking.
These examples have the same meaning, but the words during and while are used with different grammar.
During is a preposition that means – at some point in a period of time
I fell asleep during math class.
While is a conjunction that means – during the time that something is happening
I fell asleep while my math teacher was talking.
Grammar
During is used with nouns.
I fell asleep during math class.
Roger ate too much during his vacation.
While is used with a subject and a verb.
I fell asleep while my math teacher was talking.
Roger ate too much while he was on vacation.
Here are some more natural examples.
We brought some sandwiches to eat during the long train ride. (The long train ride is a noun phrase.)
We brought some sandwiches to eat while we were on the train. (The subject we and the verb were come after the word while.)
Now With time expressions, you can use in to give the same message.
For example:
I will have time to meet you during the afternoon.
I will have time to meet you in the afternoon.
Using [in] for this example is the most natural for me.
Donny likes to go grocery shopping in the morning before the store gets busy. (Natural)
Donny likes to go grocery shopping during the morning before the store gets busy. (Also okay.)
To talk about an amount of time we can’t use during, we need to use for.
She waited during 3 hours. – is incorrect
She waited for 3 hours. – is perfect.
A blog is great because people can study anywhere, anytime with their smartphones. My students like to study this blog during their train ride to work. They study while they commute.
For During and While Infographic
