(18) DURING and WHILE

During – (1) is used to indicate “throughout the entire period”;

                   Example: We are not allowed to smoke during office hours.

              (2) is used to show “a point of time in the entire period”.

                   Example: He quit home during the semester.

While – (1) is used when an action is continuing;

                 Example: He called while I was watching television.

            (2) is used when two things are happening at the same time;

                 Example: Mother was cooking while I was reading.

            (3) is used to make comparison.

                 Example: Most of the people live in the west coast while the east coast is sparsely populated.

Differences between ‘During’ and ‘While’.

(1) ‘During’ is a preposition.

           ‘While’ is a conjunction.

(2) ‘During’ usually starts a phrase which does not contain a verb.

Example: During the game, I scored a goal.

Example: During the morning, it started to rain.

‘While’ is usually followed by a clause which contains a verb.

Example: While I was walking to school, it started to rain.

(3) ‘During’ – the normal patterns are:

During + an event (e.g. the game, war, race, our travels, etc.) + comma + a subject and verb (e.g. I scored a goal)

During + time (e.g. the morning, day, etc.) + comma + action + a subject and verb (e.g. it started to rain)

‘While’ – the normal pattern is:

While + a subject and verb (e.g. I was walking to school) + comma + a subject and verb (it started to rain).