Whilst vs When - What's the difference?
whilst | when |
(British, rare or literary in North America) While, at the same time.
* {{quote-book, year=1963, author=(Margery Allingham), title=(The China Governess)
, chapter=17 (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.
As conjunctions the difference between whilst and when
is that whilst is (british|rare or literary in north america) while, at the same time while when is at what time.As an adverb when is
(interrogative) (used to introduce questions about time).As a pronoun when is
(interrogative) what time; which time.As a noun when is
the time.As an interjection when is
that's enough,.whilst
English
Alternative forms
* whilest (obsolete) * whylst (obsolete) * whylest (obsolete)Conjunction
(English Conjunctions)citation, passage=The face which emerged was not reassuring. It was blunt and grey, the nose springing thick and flat from high on the frontal bone of the forehead, whilst his eyes were narrow slits of dark in a tight bandage of tissue. […].}}
Usage notes
* Mostly restrained to use in . * Rare in North America and may be considered archaic, pedantic or pompous.References
* (while) * *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 .
