For, During and While – correct usage

Difference between During, For and While

For, During and While – Grammar Exercise 

For, during and while are all used to help us place an action or situation in the right time.

• During and For

For is used with a period of time, it tells us How long something goes on.

for twenty minutes      for a week       for a long time     for a year

For example:

• We stopped for twenty minutes to eat a sandwich.
• My wife is going to Belgium for a week.
• Where is Jim? I’ve been waiting for him for a long time.
• Are you coming home for the weekend?

During is used with a noun to say when something happens.

during the match     during the war      during the weekend

For example:

• Fred got a red card during the match.
• My grandfather was killed during the war.
• I’ll come and visit you sometime during the weekend

Notice time words like the morning, the afternoon, the winter we can normally use in or during

• It was snowing in the morning. ( or It was snowing during the morning)

You cannot use during to say how long  something continues.

• It snowed during 3 nights correct = It snowed for 3 nights

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