When vs While - What's the difference?
when | while |
(interrogative) (Used to introduce questions about time).
(Used to introduce indirect questions about time).
At an earlier and less prosperous time.
At what time.
:
*
, title=(The Celebrity), chapter=4
, passage=The Celebrity, by arts unknown, induced Mrs. Judge Short and two other ladies to call at Mohair on an afternoon when Mr. Cooke was trying a trotter on the track.
*
*:Turning back, then, toward the basement staircase, she began to grope her way through blinding darkness, but had taken only a few uncertain steps when , of a sudden, she stopped short and for a little stood like a stricken thing, quite motionless save that she quaked to her very marrow in the grasp of a great and enervating fear.
At such time as.
:
*{{quote-magazine, year=2013, month=July-August, author=(Henry Petroski)
, title= As soon as.
:
At a time in the past.
:
*{{quote-news, year=2012, date=April 22, author=Sam Sheringham, work=BBC Sport
, title= (interrogative) What time; which time
The time.
An uncertain duration of time, a period of time.
During the same time that.
* , chapter=12
, title= * 1948 , , North from Mexico / The Spanish-Speaking People of The United States , J. B. Lippincott Company, page 25,
* {{quote-magazine, date=2013-06-07, author=David Simpson
, volume=188, issue=26, page=36, magazine=(The Guardian Weekly)
, title= Although.
* 2013 September 28, (Kenan Malik), "
(Northern England, Scotland) Until.
* Beaumont and Fletcher
As long as.
* I. Watts
To pass (time) idly.
* Longfellow
To loiter.
As conjunctions the difference between when and while
is that when is at what time while while is during the same time that.As nouns the difference between when and while
is that when is the time while while is an uncertain duration of time, a period of time.As an adverb when
is Used to introduce questions about time.As a pronoun when
is what time; which time.As an interjection when
is that's enough, a command to stop adding something, especially an ingredient of food or drink.As a verb while is
to pass (time) idly.when
English
(wikipedia when)Adverb
(-)- When will they arrive ?
- Do you know when they arrived?
- Do you know when they will arrive?
- Do you know when they arrive?
- He's mister high and mighty now, but I remember him when .
Conjunction
(missing senses) (English Conjunctions)Geothermal Energy, volume=101, issue=4, magazine=(American Scientist) , passage=Energy has seldom been found where we need it when we want it. Ancient nomads, wishing to ward off the evening chill and enjoy a meal around a campfire, had to collect wood and then spend time and effort coaxing the heat of friction out from between sticks to kindle a flame. With more settled people, animals were harnessed to capstans or caged in treadmills to turn grist into meal.}}
Liverpool 0-1 West Brom, passage=The Baggies had offered little threat until the 28th minute, but when their first chance came it was a clear one.}}
Derived terms
* whenwePronoun
(English Pronouns)- Since when do I need your permission?
Noun
(en noun)- A good article will cover the who, the what, the when , the where, the why and the how .
See also
* since whenDerived terms
* wheneverStatistics
*while
English
Noun
(en noun)- He lectured for quite a long while .
Conjunction
(wikipedia while) (English Conjunctions)Mr. Pratt's Patients, passage=While the powwow was going on the big woman came back again. She was consider'ble rumpled and scratched up, but there was fire in her eye.}}
- While De Anza was exploring the Bay of San Francisco, seeking a site for the presidio, the American colonists on the eastern seaboard, three thousand miles away, were celebrating the signing of the Declaration of Independence.
Fantasy of navigation, passage=Like most human activities, ballooning has sponsored heroes and hucksters and a good deal in between. For every dedicated scientist patiently recording atmospheric pressure and wind speed while shivering at high altitudes, there is a carnival barker with a bevy of pretty girls willing to dangle from a basket or parachute down to earth.}}
London Is Special, but Not That Special," New York Times (retrieved 28 September 2013):
- While Britain’s recession has been deep and unforgiving, in London it has been relatively shallow.
- I may be conveyed into your chamber; I'll lie under your bed while midnight.
- Use your memory; you will sensibly experience a gradual improvement, while you take care not to overload it.
Verb
(whil)- The lovely lady whiled the hours away.
- (Spectator)