Grammar-Quizzes › Connectors › Connective Prepositions › When vs. While
When vs. While
Indicate same-time activities
In Context
My wife gave birth to our daughter last night. Our little baby girl was napping when I phoned my family. I was staring at her little face while I was holding her. She was sleeping so peacefully.
When I called home, my brother picked up the phone. We were talking while my mother was listening in on our conversation. My brother said that she had tears in her eyes while I was talking about the birth.
Same-time Events
| WHEN |
|---|
When + clause relates an activity that occurs at the same time as or slightly before the activity in the main clause. The clause following when may express (1) a short interruption, or (2) a response to the activity in the first clause. " X occurs, Y results." Typically, the verb in the when-clause is non-progressive and expresses an activity with shorter duration. |
| INTERRUPTION—AT THE MOMENT |
When you called, he was holding his newborn baby. |
| RESPONSE—IMMEDIATELY AFTER |
When you called, he picked up his phone.
|
| WHILE |
|---|
While + clause relates an activity that occurs at the same-time as (simultaneously with) the activity in the main clause. The clause following while includes a verb with a meaning and/or a tense that expresses duration. The while-clause often expresses a background activity to the focus-activity in the main clause. |
| SAME TIME—SOMETIME DURING THE TIME |
While he was talking, he was holding his newborn baby. (held)
|
| SAME TIME—DURING THE TIME |
While he was talking, his baby slept. (was sleeping)
|
When and while are "temporal" prepositions which are complemented (completed) by a time-related clause. (Huddleston, et. al. 700) When and while, along with several other adverbs, were reanalyzed (2002) as prepositions. At the same time, the complements that could follow a preposition were widened to include: a noun, noun phrase, gerund, infinitive, clause and more. See Prepositional Complements. In effect, we have a clause within a prepositional phrase! He was holding his baby [PP while [Cls you were talking.]] Also see While / When -ing "Reducing time-relative clauses"
When has four meanings:
- interruption—He was holding his newborn baby when you called. ("called" ["rang up"] —short duration² )
- same time—He was holding his newborn baby when (or while) he was talking on the phone. ("was talking" —longer duration³)
- immediately after (in response)—When you called, he picked up his phone. ("called" and "picked up"—short duration)
- anytime / whenever—When he has a question, he calls the doctor. (cause effect) See If v. When.
While has two meanings:
- same time—He was holding his newborn baby while (or when) he was talking on the phone. (was talking — duration [process verb])
- contrast—While some fathers are uncomfortable holding newborns, others are not. "whereas"
Long or short duration may be expressed by the meaning of the verb:
- duration (process) such as talk, walk, eat, sleep, cook, study. (nonprogressive form) (See Verbs of Short and Long Duration)
- short duration (punctual) such as bark, jump, clap, sneeze, gulp, begin, end, fall (nonprogressive form).
Long or short duration may be expressed by the tense of the verb:
- duration (process) He has been calling you all day. That dog is barking. (progressive form) The dog barked. (habitually) (See Present, Past, Present Perfect.)
- short duration (punctual) He called (rang). The dog barked. (once) (nonprogressive form) (See Past.)
See and Verb Meaning & Timing, Verbs of Short and Long Duration, and Duration vs Completion (process v. accomplishment).
When / While
Foreground vs. Background Activity
When—interruption vs. While—another ongoing activity
| INTERRUPTION | |
|---|---|
Imagine a movie scene with a lot of people talking in a room, and then the camera zooms in on one person. The person becomes the subject of the foreground and the other people and activity move into the background. In a similar way, when focuses on an interrupting activity. Follow-up comments tend to focus on the foreground activity. | |
| BACKGROUND | FOREGROUND–INTERRUPTION |
| FOCUS FOR CONVERSATION | |
He was holding his baby | when the phone rang. Who called? |
He was counting the babies fingers | when the baby yawned. How cute! |
Everyone quieted down | when the baby was born. What a moment! |
| ANOTHER ONGOING ACTIVITY | |
|---|---|
Both when and while can be followed by a clause that draws attention to another ongoing activity that is the central focus. The verb in the while clause is mostly progressive, expressing repetitive or detailed activities. The verb in the when clause is mostly nonprogressive, expressing an activity without particular focus on duration. | |
| BACKGROUND | FOREGROUND–SAME TIME |
| FOCUS FOR CONVERSATION | |
He was holding his baby
| while we were discussing names. What names do you like? |
They were trying to raise a baby | when/while they were still living in a small apartment in the city. So did they move to a house? |
The baby's gender (sex) was revealed | when he was born. Were they surprised?
|
backgrounding (Ger) – a grammatical term for moving something out of central focus and into a position of less focus (less importance or less interest).
come up with (Phrasal Verb) – think of, put together, call to mind
conceive (V) – begin life (also, to form a notion, an opinion, a purpose, an idea)
interruption (N) – a stop or break in the middle of an activity; a discontinuance; interference with action or speech
reveal (V) – announce publicly, make known to all
tends to be (V Expr.) – is more likely to be; is more expected to be
yawn (V) (N) – an involuntary action of opening the mouth widely and taking air into the lungs
When
Express same-time v. immediately after
When—"at the same time" vs. "immediately after"
| ABOUT THE SAME TIME | |
|---|---|
When + clause relates an activity that occurs slightly before or at the same time as the activity in the main clause. Depending on the verb tense, the clause following when may express a routine or a one-time response to the activity in the main clause. "X occurs, Y results." The verb in the when clause is mostly non-progressive and expresses an activity without focusing on its duration. | |
| FIRST ACTIVITY | JUST BEFORE OR SAME TIME |
| PP + CLAUSE | MAIN CLAUSE |
When I call, (present form) "anytime this occurs" (routine) | the doctor comes. (present) "this occurs" |
 | |
When I called, (past) "at the time this occurred" (1-time) | the doctor came. (past) "this occurred" |
When I call, (present form)
| the doctor will come. (prediction)
|
| IMMEDIATELY AFTER | |
|---|---|
When + clause may also relate an activity that occurs just before the activity in the main clause. Depending on the verb tense, the clause following when may express a routine or a one-time response to the activity in the main clause. The verb in the when clause is mostly non-progressive and expresses an activity of short duration¹; that is, the timing of the activity has a clear beginning and end. | |
| FIRST ACTIVITY | SECOND ACTIVITY |
| PP + CLAUSE | MAIN CLAUSE |
When the doctor comes in, "anytime this occurs" (routine) | I ask her questions. (present) "this occurs immediately after" |
 | |
When the doctor came in, "at the time this occurred" (1-time) | I asked her questions. (past) "this occurred" |
When the doctor comes in, | I will asked her questions. (prediction) |
* not used (not logical) / ~ requires a special context for use
duration verb "atelic"
¹ short duration verbs —See Duration vs Completion "telic".
when (connective preposition)—See Connective Prepositions (for a description)
Also see If vs. When, When vs. While and Awhile v. A while (N - Adv [P])
(Huddleston 8 §6.4 [29])
See Grammar Notes below for details about grammar terms.
When / While
As, During, Throughout, Meanwhile
Other expressions for when and while
| WHEN |
|---|
| SAME-TIME¹ |
We were eating at the moment he called. We were eating when he called. |
We were eating at the time he called. (point, instant) We were eating when he called. |
We were eating whenever he called. (any time) We were eating when he called. |
| IMMEDIATELY AFTER² |
We stopped eating upon receiving his call. We stopped eating when we received his call. |
We stopped eating just as he called. We stopped eating when he called |
We complained immediately after he called. We complained when he called. |
We complained shortly after he called. We complained when he called |
| WHILE |
|---|
| SAME-TIME |
We were eating dinner as he was talking / talked on his phone. We were eating dinner while he was… |
During the time that we were eating dinner, he was talking / talked on his phone. |
He was talking / talked on his phone throughout the time that we were eating. |
He was talking / talked on his phone at the same time that we were eating. |
He was talking / talked on his phone. Meanwhile, we were eating. |
He was talking / talked on his phone during the time that we were eating. |
He was talking / talked on his phone all the while we were eating. (expression) |
Punctuation
Commas
Initial vs. Final Clause Placement
| INITIAL CLAUSE PLACEMENT | |
|---|---|
| |
| WHEN + CLAUSE | MAIN CLAUSE |
When you called, | he was watching his baby. |
While he was talking, | he was holding his newborn. |
Initial placement of a | FINAL CLAUSE PLACEMENT | |
|---|---|
| |
| MAIN CLAUSE | WHEN + CLAUSE |
He was watching his baby | when you called. |
He was holding his newborn | while he was talking. |
No comma is used if the
Traditional grammar analyzes this structure (e.g. when you called) as an "adverbial clause". Current linguistic research analyzes this structure as a prepositional phrase; it places "when" in the category of Preposition (i.e. when [prep] you called [clause]). See Grammar Notes below.
newborn (N) — a very young baby (first few days)
The background activity is expressed in the independent clause.
Common Mistakes
Errors and Solutions
Error and Solution
| ERROR |
|---|
* While he called me, he was driving to work. Use while before the activity of longer duration (the background activity). |
*While he is watching television, she does not. Background activity is expressed, but focus activity is unclear. |
| SOLUTION |
|---|
When he called me, he was driving to work. (interruption) While he was driving to work, he called me. (background activity) While driving, he called me. (reduced clause) |
While he is watching television, she isn't able to (can't) read. While he watches television, she does something else. (Complete the focus activity.) |
*not used
See When / While -ing (reduced clauses, verbless clauses)
Grammar Notes (Advanced)
Traditional and Linguistic Description
Traditional / ESL and Linguistic Descriptions
| TRADITIONAL GRAMMAR |
|---|
In traditional grammar, the adverbs when and while introduce adverbial clauses. They are called subordinating conjunctions, which in this case, join time-related clauses. The joined clause is a dependent clause. Note that in traditional grammar, a preposition requires an object, a noun or noun phrase, after it. All other types of complements such as an adverb phrase, an infinitive phrase, a gerund phrase, or clause are not included in the definition of a prepositional phrase. The connective word is called a conjunction or subordinating conjunction. i. He was driving to work while he was calling me.(adverbial clause = subordinating conj. + dependent clause) ii. He was driving to work while calling me.(adverbial clause = subordinating conj. + reduced clause) iii. He was driving to work while on the phone. (adverbial clause = subordinating conj. + prepositional phrase)
Swan mentions (lists) as, when and while as being used for 'background' action or a situation which is going on when something else happens/happened. [No grammar term is given.] (73) Murphy lists these words in the table of Contents as "Conjunctions and Prepositions". No mention of grammar terms are used on the practice pages. (113 - 120) |
| LINEAR DIAGRAM |
|
| LINGUISTIC DESCRIPTION |
|---|
The following—while, when, though, although, if, as if, as though, whenever, once and whilst—are prepositions, which function as adjuncts (words that add extra information to a clause). They differ from prepositions that function as complements, which add information necessary in order to complete th meaning of the clause. 1) Preposition (functioning as an adjunct): He hung his coat up before sitting down. (The main clause can stand independently.) 2) Preposition (functioning as a complement): He hung his coat on the hook. (The clause requires the prep. phrase to make sense.)
An adjunct preposition takes a finite clause, a nonfinite clause, or a prep. phrase as its complement. i. He was driving to work while he was calling me. (finite clause) ii. He was driving to work while calling me. (nonfinite clause) iii. He was driving to work while on the phone. (prep + prep. phrase) See Prepositional Complements for others. Note that a large number of adverbs have been re-assigned to the category of Preposition, which allows a wide range of complement type. Other terms: Temporal Location Adjuncts (after, before, since, when, while) – Prepositions (Huddleston 8 §6.3) – Conjunctions (Swan 73, 411.6, 30, 97) – Subordinator. Adverbial Clause (Biber 2.4.7.5) – Subordinator. Adverbial Clause (Quirk 15.28)
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| TREE DIAGRAM |
|
Word Categories: N – noun; V – verb; Aux – auxiliary; Adj – adjective; Adv – adverb; P – preposition; Det – determiner.
Phrasal Categories: NP – noun phrase; VP – verb phrase; AdjP – adjective phrase; AdvP – adverb phrase; PP – prepositional phrase; DP – determinative phrase.
Clausal Categories: Cls – clause; F – finite; NF – nonfinite (Ger – gerund; Inf – infinitive; PPart – past participle).
Word Functions: Subj – Subject; Pred – Predicate/Predicator; Comp – complement: elements required by an expression to complete its meaning (DO – direct object; IO – indirect object); Adjunct – adjunct elements not required by an expression to complete its meaning (Subord – subordinator; Coord – coordinator); Supl – supplement: a clause or phrase added to a clause but not closely related to the central thought or structure of the main clause.
Works Cited
- Azar, Betty Schrampfer, and Stacy A. Hagen. Understanding and Using English Grammar. 4th ed., Pearson Education, 2009.
- Huddleston, Rodney D., and Geoffrey K. Pullum. The Cambridge Grammar of the English Language. Cambridge UP, 2002.
- Murphy, Raymond. English Grammar in Use. 5th ed., Cambridge UP. 2019.
- Swan, Michael. Practical English Usage. 3rd ed., Oxford UP, 2005.
Practice
Simultaneous Activities
Complete the sentence with when and while.
- Select the response from the list that best completes the sentence.
- Compare your response to the feedback by clicking the "Check" or "Check 1-10" button.
simultaneous (Adj) — same time
Practice 2
Dependent on Devices
Read for Errors
Psychologists have a growing concern with iPhone and other smart-phone dependence. People are interacting with their phones when they could be interacting with people. Teens and adults are engaging in addictive behavior such as checking their phones when they are having face-to-face conversations. Some teens are using words such as LOL, BRB while they are talking with friends. Some people report that they feel "naked" while they forget their phones or somehow become separated from the device.
Many cannot sleep while their phones are next to their beds. A number of people report checking email in movie theaters when they are supposed to be engaged in the movie. Other people have admitted to doing things on their phones while they were driving or operating heavy equipment. Unfortunately, a distracted driver is often unable to disengage fast enough when an accident is about to happen. Is it a sign of the times, or just bad behavior?
addictive (Adj) — a habit that turns to a need
admit to (V) — say with difficulty or embarrassment that something is true
dependence (N) — the state of relying on or needing someone or something for aid, support
concern (N) — worry
device (N) a mobile device: smart-phone, tablet, iPad, iPod, etc.
disengage (V) — free or release one's attention to something
engage (V) — occupy the attention of a person
naked (Adj) — without clothing
psychologist (N) — doctors who study the mind and human behavior
used to be (V) — past custom
"Do you sleep with your iPhone?" AppAdvice. 26 Jul 2011. http://appadvice.com/appnn/2011/07/do-you-sleep-with-your-iphone-psychologists-worry-about-this-new-addiction. Accessed on 19 Aug. 2016.
Correct or Incorrect?
- Select your response—correct or incorrect.
- Compare your response to the feedback by clicking the "Check" or "Check 11-18" button.