Confused Words - DURING & WHILE

Hi, my name is Rebecca, and today I'll be explaining to you the difference between two

little words which sometimes cause a lot of confusion for several ESL students.

These words are "during" and "while", ok?

So what's the difference between these two words, and how can you know when to use which

word?

"During" is always followed by a noun.

So we say, for example, "During the flight."

"While" is always followed by a verb.

So we say, "While I was flying, I slept a lot."

Or we would say, "During the flight, I slept a lot."

Ok?

Let's take another example.

"During the movie, there was a lot of noise.

While watching the movie, there was a lot of noise."

Do you see the difference?

A noun and a verb.

Let's take some more examples, just so that you really understand it clearly.

"During the lecture, the professor spoke about science.

During the lecture, the professor spoke about science.

While attending the lecture, we learned a lot about science.

While attending the lecture, we learned a lot about science."

Ok?

Let's take one last example.

"During the concerts, some students started screaming.

During the concert, some students started screaming.

While attending the concert, some students passed out."

What does "passed out" mean?

"Passed out" means fainted, ok?

Or we could say, "While playing at the concert, some students did a great job."

The main point is, after "while", we want to use a verb, and usually you'll use it with

the -ing form, which is the gerund.

So "while" plus "verb", "during" plus "noun".

If you can keep these two words straight, that will eliminate one other mistake, which

is often made by ESL speakers.

If you have any questions about this, or any other aspects of English grammar, or anything

else to do with your English studies, please feel free to join us at our forum at www.engvid.com.

I'll be happy to answer your questions.

Thanks very much.

Bye for now.