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Unit 119 · Conjunctions and prepositions

during for while

Study

A

during = at a time between the start and end of something:

›

I fell asleep during the movie. (= at a time between the start and end of the movie)

›

We met some really nice people during our holiday.

›

The ground is wet. It must have rained during the night.

With 'time words' (the morning, the night, the summer etc.), you can usually say in or during:

›

It rained in the night. or ... during the night.

›

It's lovely here during the summer. or ... in the summer.

B

We use for (+ a period of time) to say how long something goes on:

›

We watched TV for two hours last night.

›

Jess is going away for a week in September.

›

How are you? I haven't seen you for ages.

›

Are you going away for the weekend?

We do not use during to say how long something goes on. We do not say 'during two hours', 'during five years' etc. :

›

It rained for three days without stopping. (not during three days)

We use during to say when something happens (not how long). Compare during and for:

›

'When did you fall asleep?' 'During the movie.'

›

'How long were you asleep?' 'For half an hour.'

C

Compare:

We use during + noun:

›

I fell asleep during the movie.

›

We met a lot of interesting people during our holiday.

›

Robert suddenly began to feel ill during the exam.

We use while + subject + verb:

›

I fell asleep while I was watching TV.

›

We met a lot of interesting people while we were on holiday.

›

Robert suddenly began to feel ill while he was doing the exam.

Some more examples of while:

›

We saw Clare while we were waiting for the bus.

›

While you were out, there was a phone call for you.

›

Alex read a book while Amy watched TV.

When we are talking about the future, we use the present after while. Do not use 'will' (see Unit 25):

›

I'm going to Moscow next week. I hope the weather will be good while I'm there. (not while I will be)

›

What are you going to do while you're waiting? (not while you'll be waiting)

➜ for and since ➜ Unit 12A · while + -ing ➜ Unit 68B

Exercises (4)

0/4 exercises checked
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119.1

Put in for or during.

  1. 1
    It rained three days without stopping.example
  2. 2
    I fell asleep the movie.example
  3. 3
    I went to the theatre last night. I met Sue the interval.
  4. 4
    I felt really ill last week. I could hardly eat anything three days.
  5. 5
    The traffic was bad. We were stuck in a traffic jam two hours.
  6. 6
    Production at the factory was seriously affected the strike.
  7. 7
    Sarah was very angry with me. She didn't speak to me a week.
  8. 8
    I don't have much free time the week, but I relax at weekends.
  9. 9
    I need a break. I think I'll go away a few days.
  10. 10
    The president gave a short speech. She spoke only ten minutes.
  11. 11
    We were hungry when we arrived. We hadn't eaten anything the journey.
  12. 12
    We were hungry when we arrived. We hadn't eaten anything eight hours.
119.2

Put in during or while.

  1. 1
    We met a lot of interesting people we were on holiday.example
  2. 2
    We met a lot of interesting people our holiday.example
  3. 3
    I met Mike I was shopping.
  4. 4
    I was on holiday, I didn't use my phone at all.
  5. 5
    I learnt a lot the course. The teachers were very good.
  6. 6
    There was a lot of noise the night. What was it?
  7. 7
    I'd been away for many years. Many things had changed that time.
  8. 8
    What did they say about me I was out of the room?
  9. 9
    When I fly anywhere, I never eat anything the flight.
  10. 10
    Please don't interrupt me I'm speaking.
  11. 11
    the festival, it's almost impossible to find a hotel room here.
  12. 12
    We were hungry when we arrived. We hadn't eaten anything we were travelling.
119.3

Put in during, for or while.

  1. 1
    I used to live in Berlin. I lived there five years.
  2. 2
    One of the runners fell the race but managed to get up and continue.
  3. 3
    Nobody came to see me I was in hospital.
  4. 4
    Try to avoid travelling the busy periods of the day.
  5. 5
    I was very tired. I slept ten hours.
  6. 6
    Can you hold my bag I try on this jacket?
  7. 7
    I'm not sure when we'll arrive, but it will be sometime the afternoon.
  8. 8
    I wasn't well last week. I hardly ate anything three days.
  9. 9
    My phone rang we were having dinner.
  10. 10
    Nobody knows how many people were killed the war.
119.4

Use your own ideas to complete these sentences.

  1. 1
    I fell asleep while .example
  2. 2
    I fell asleep during .example
  3. 3
    Can you wait for me while
  4. 4
    Most of the students looked bored during
  5. 5
    I was asked a lot of questions during
  6. 6
    Don't open the car door while
  7. 7
    The lights suddenly went out while
  8. 8
    What are you going to do while
  9. 9
    It started to rain during
  10. 10
    It started to rain while