during

duringpreposition

American /ˈdʊrɪŋ/ British /ˈdjʊərɪŋ/

very commondefining vocabulary

During places something either all through a period of time or at one particular moment within it.

all through a periodall through a particular period of time
- Please stay quiet during the movie.
- The store is closed during the holidays.
- I felt sick during the flight.
- The lights stayed on during the whole storm.
Collocations
preposition + noun during the day, during the meeting, during the holidays
Compare throughout
at some point withinat one particular moment within a period of time
- The phone rang during dinner.
- He fell asleep during class.
- It started raining during the game.

Usage

During is a preposition and is followed by a noun (during the movie); while is a conjunction and is followed by a clause with its own subject and verb (while the movie was playing).

Common mistakes

I fell asleep during she was talking. I fell asleep while she was talking.
During takes a noun, not a clause; use while before a subject and verb.

We waited during two hours. We waited for two hours.
During names the period something happens in and answers when; for gives a length of time and answers how long.

duringpreposition

Collocations

Usage

Common mistakes