English 24
5th Aprile 2003
A little bit of GRAMMAR

Hi guys, after noting that many students have difficulty in deciphering the differences in use between for, during and while, we decided to give you a hand by focusing upon them in this week's grammar section.

For and during:
We use "for" plus a period of time to say how long something goes on:
e.g. for 6 years for two hours for a week

§ I've lived in Italy for 4 years.
§ I'm going on holiday for 3 weeks.
§ I've been waiting for you for 2 hours.
§ I waited in the queue at the post office for ages.

However you cannot use "during" in the same way.
It rained for 40 days and 40 nights. (not "during 40 days and 40 nights")

We use "during" plus noun to say when something happens, (not how long):
§ I fell asleep during the concert.
§ My mother phoned during the film.
§ My car was stolen during the night.

During and while:
We use during and noun. We use while + subject + verb. Compare:
Chiara fell asleep during the film. = (noun)
Chiara fell asleep while she was watching the film. (subject plus verb)

Here are a few of the examples we gave you during the programme. Compare during and while:
§ I met a lot of strange people while I was on holiday
§ I met a lot of strange people during my holiday
§ Chiara suddenly began to feel sick during the film
§ Chiara suddenly began to fell sick when she was watching the film.

A few more examples of while before you try the practice exercises.

§ We saw a robbery while we were waiting for the tram
§ While you were at lunch there were 3 phone calls from your boss.
§ I watched a movie while Paolo read a book.

Practice Exercises:
Exercise 1
Fill the gap with either for or during.
E.g. We went travelling for 2 weeks.
My dad always falls asleep during the film.

1. I waited for Chiara _ an hour outside the cinema.
2. I have lived in Milan _ 3 years.
3. We went ski-diving _ our holidays.
4. It's unusual for Jane to go dancing _ the week.
5. Last year I went home _ Xmas.
6. I always feel anxious ____ the exam period.
7. I bumped into Sarah ____ my lunch break.
8. When I woke up everywhere was white. It must have snowed _ the night.

Exercise 2
Fill in the missing word with either while or during.
e.g. We met a lot of nice people during our holidays.
We met a lot of nice people while on our holidays.

1. I bumped into Helen ___ I was looking for a book.
2. __ we were in Newcastle we went to The Baltic art factory.
3. Can you take the dog for a walk ____ I get lunch ready?
4. We don't go out at weekends, but we do usually go to the theatre ___ the week.
5. This morning there was a power cut ___ a really important meeting.
6. ___ I was out of the office , there was a terrible accident.
7. I forgot all about work __ our summer holiday.
8.The press reporters interrupted many times _ the president's speech.

Answers

Exercise 1
1. for ; 2. for ; 3. for ; 4. during ; 5. for ; 6.during ; 7. during ; 8. during

Exercise 2
1. while ; 2. while; 3. while ; 4. during ; 5. during ; 6. while ; 7. during; . 8. during