English Grammar for ESL learners
FOR - DURING - WHILE
'For', 'during' and 'while' in time expressions
The prepositions 'for', 'during' and 'while' are often used in
time expressions.
| FOR |
- For is followed by a length of time : for one hour.
It answers the question : How long?
- I have been standing here for 10 minutes.
- Tony is going to San Francisco for
a week.
- My parents lived in London for 2 years.
- Have you been attending English classes for a long time?
|
|
DURING |
- During is followed by a noun.
It means 'throughout the period' or
'in the course of' an action or event.
- During the summer I go to the
beach as often as possible.
- Exercises were given to us during
the lesson.
- The bank was robbed during the
night.
- My grandparents often come to stay with us
during the winter.
|
| WHILE |
- While is usually followed by a subject and a verb.
It means 'during the time that an action is taking place'.
- They held hands while
they were watching the film.
- The students took notes while the teacher was speaking.
- We'll collect some seashells while we're walking on the beach.
- Alex phoned while you were out.
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 neighbour for quite a while yesterday.
- It's been a while since I read that book.
|
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Please note that British English spelling is used on this website.
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