During
During is used to show that something happens inside a period of time; it is followed by a noun phrase usually beginning with the:
|
During the week, I’m extremely busy. During the last two years, many efforts have been made to attract young Mainland professionals. I very much enjoyed meeting you during my trip to Beijing. |
Note the difference between:
| I’ll be there during the afternoon. (means ‘at some time in the afternoon, but not all the time’) |
And
|
I’ll be there for the afternoon. (means ‘the whole afternoon’) |
While
While is similar in meaning to during but is followed by (1) a subject and verb, or (2) a gerund (verb + ing).
|
I met Mr. Holmes while I was visiting the Trade Centre. (= during my visit to the Trade Centre) He jotted down a lot of comments while interviewing the job applicants. (= during his interview with the job applicants) |