Resources
Lecciones de gramáticaPor temasFlash cardsLecturasEjercicios de listeningGlosarioFalsos amigos¿Cuál usar?SufijosPrefijosDiscover your levelBlogDuringvsWhile
One is followed by a noun, the other is followed by a full clause.
Side-by-side comparison
"During" is followed by a noun or noun phrase: "during the meeting", "during lunch". It indicates within which period something happened.
She fell asleep during the movie.
I learned a lot during the course.
Don't use your phone during class.
"While" is followed by a clause with subject and verb: "while I was eating", "while she slept". It describes two actions happening at the same time.
She fell asleep while watching the movie.
I listened to music while studying.
While I was cooking, he set the table.
Common mistake
- •"She called me during I was sleeping" is wrong: "during" cannot precede a subject + verb.
- •Use "while" for clauses with a subject and verb: "while I was sleeping".
Trick to remember it
- •"During" + noun (during the class, during the game).
- •"While" + subject + verb (while I study, while she sleeps).
- •If a full sentence follows, use "while".
Quick rule
- •Is it followed by just a noun? "During".
- •Is it followed by a subject and verb (a clause)? "While".
Did you know?
"Whilst" is the British formal variant of "while": "Whilst she was speaking" sounds literary and formal. In modern American English, "whilst" is extremely rare and can sound old-fashioned or overly formal. In any variety of English, "while" is always the safe choice.
Practise what you learned
Exercise 1 · Pick the right one
She listened to music _____ she was cooking.
Exercise 2 · Pick the right one
He always checks his phone _____ class.
Exercise 3 · Form the word
Related word pairs
'A' is used before consonant sounds; 'an' is used before vowel sounds.
'A lot of' works for countable and uncountable; 'many' only for countable; 'much' only for uncountable.
'According to' cites an external source; 'based on' indicates the evidence behind a claim.
In the active voice the subject acts; in the passive voice the subject receives the action.
Bryan López
Founder of SpeakUP Academy