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Which one to use?Beginnerprepositionpreposition
DuringvsFor
'During' goes with named periods; 'for' goes with measured time durations.
Side-by-side comparison
During
preposition"During" answers "when?": it indicates within which period something happened. It is followed by a specific, named period, not by a quantity of time.
Her phone rang during the film and everyone in the cinema turned to look at her.
She fell asleep during the lecture, the room was too warm and she was very tired.
During the summer, the beach gets so crowded that it is hard to find a good spot.
For
preposition"For" answers "how long?": it indicates the duration of something. It is followed by a quantity of time: hours, days, weeks, months, years.
She studied for three hours without taking a single break or looking at her phone.
He has been learning the guitar for six months and can already play several songs.
We waited for over an hour before the doctor finally called us into the room.
Common mistake
- •"During two hours" is wrong: "during" goes with named periods, not numeric time quantities.
- •"Two hours" is a numeric duration, use "for".
- •In Spanish "durante dos horas" = "for two hours" (not "during two hours").
Trick to remember it
- •Is there a number after it? (two hours, five years) = "for".
- •Is there the name of an event or period? (the meeting, summer, the weekend) = "during".
- •"Worked for 3 hours" / "Worked during the conference".
Quick rule
- •"During" = within a named period or event.
- •"For" = numeric duration (number + time unit).
- •In Spanish "durante" can be either; in English they are different words.
Did you know?
The word "during" has a fascinating linguistic history. It comes from the present participle of Latin "durare" (to last, to endure), from "durus" (hard, firm). The etymological connection between "during", "durable", and "duration" is direct: all three come from the same Latin root. This explains why "during" always implies reference to a period that "lasts" or "persists", even if not measured numerically.
Practise what you learned
Exercise 1 · Pick the right one
I lived in Barcelona _____ three years.
Exercise 2 · Pick the right one
She fell asleep _____ the film. She missed the ending completely.
Exercise 3 · Form the word
Related word pairs
InvsOn / At
'In' goes with broad periods; 'on' goes with specific days and dates; 'at' goes with exact moments.
SincevsAgo
'Since' marks the starting point of something active until the present; 'ago' indicates distance into the past from now.
SincevsFor
"Since" marks the specific point when something started; "for" indicates how long something has lasted.
AvsAn
'A' is used before consonant sounds; 'an' is used before vowel sounds.
Bryan López
Founder of SpeakUP Academy