Can you tell me the difference between "during" and "while"? They seem so similar!

Rebecca

Great question. "While" and "during" are indeed both very similar. Both words are used to talk about actions happening at the same time. "While", like "during", indicates two events happening at the same time. However, it is a conjunction; so,it is followed by a sentence (while + subject + verb...). Ex: My father was washing his car while my mother was cooking. Ex: While my brother was driving I was reading a book. So, it’s used to talk about two events; yet, one starts in the middle of another action. "During" unlike "while" should always be followed by a noun or a pronoun’. The word "during" is a preposition, not a conjunction. You cannot say "During she…. / During I…" because the preposition is always followed by a noun, not a clause with a subject and a verb. Ex: During dinner, we talked about school. Ex: She slept during the movie.