Commonly Confused Words in English: DURING & WHILE

Dear Marco,

I think I can help you out. And to Rebecca, thanks for making these videos.

It really helps to know the parts of speech when trying to understand English. During is a preposition; that’s why nouns are usually following. While on the other hand is usually a conjunction. So what do you do if you find yourself unsure of which word to use? Plug in the definition and see if the sentence still makes sense. Here are some definitions (from Marriam Webster’s online dictionary:

During – Prepostion – throughout the duration of

While – Conjunction – during the time that

Now to use your example

During/While the cake was baking, Diane washed the dishes.

So plug in the definitions and see which one makes better sense…

1. Throughout the duration of the cake was baking, Diane washed the dishes.

or

2. During the time that the cake was baking, Diane washed the dishes.

Which one makes more sense? To me, “duration of the cake,” seems a little odd but “during the time that the cake was baking,” while long, still makes sense. Since this is the definition of “while,” “while” would be the better word to use here.

While not 100% foolproof, the technique can help you out most of the time.

Bill Ralens