MADE BY: CRISTIAN YUMISACA AND PATRICIA VINUEZA

UNIVERSIDAD NACIONAL DE CHIMBORAZOFACULTAD DE CIENCIAS DE LA EDUCACIÓN HUMANAS Y TECNOLOGÍAS

GRAMMAR SIX

The use of for, during and while

THE USE OF FOR, DURING AND WHILE

• The prepositions during, for, and while are often used with time expressions

HOW TO USE FOR?

For is a preposition which is used with a period to say how long something goes on, It answers the question : How long?for twenty minutes  for a week for a long time  for a yearFor example:"Simon has been sleeping for 8 hours.""We waited for 30 minutes outside your house."

HOW TO USE DURINGDuring is a preposition which is used before a noun (during + noun) It means 'throughout the period' or 'in the course of' an action or event. during the match  during the war during the weekend

I fell asleep during the film because it was so boring. (The sleeping happened at the same time as the film.)

Notice that during is followed by a noun, which often represents an activity (during + the film)."Nobody spoke during the presentation."“The bank was robbed during the night”

REMEMBER

 You cannot use during to say how long  something continues.Incorrect= It snowed during 3 nights     correct = It snowed for 3 nights 

HOW TO USE WHILE

While is used to talk about two things that are happening at the same time. The length of time is not important. It is very similar to during, but it is followed by a sentence (while + subject + verb...), so they are not interchangeable. For example:

1. Stan: When did you lose your credit cards?Mark: I think it was while I was shopping in El Corte Inglés.

2. "The phone rang while I was watching TV."

3. "I met him while we were studying in the library."

IT IS OFTEN POSSIBLE TO DROP SUBJECT + BE :

“I generally listen to music while driving to work.”

“Sam twisted his ankle while playing tennis.”

 

WHILE CAN ALSO BE A NOUN WHICH MEANS 'A PERIOD OF TIME'.

“I spoke to the neighbor for quite a while yesterday.”

“It's been a while since I read that book.”

REMEMBER

EXERCISE: COMPLETE WITH THE CORRECT PREPOSITION OF TIME FOR THE FOLLOWING SENTENCES: FOR, WHILE OR DURING.

1. I've been meaning to call you ___ some time.

2. He fell asleep ___ the meeting.

3. We all stayed inside ___ the storm.

4. Someone stole my bag ___ I was riding on the train.

5. The dog was barking ___ she was trying to watch TV.

6. Please don't smoke ___ I'm eating.

7. Bats sleep ___ the day.

8. They've been out of the office ___ ages.

9. He kept talking to me ___ I was trying to read.

10. His mobile-phone rang twice ___ the film.

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