As an English learner, you may have noticed that both “while” and “during” are used to talk about time. However, they are used differently in sentences, and understanding how to use them correctly can make your English more accurate and natural. Let’s break down the key differences between these two words.
1. “WHILE”
Usage: “While” is a conjunction that connects two actions happening at the same time. It introduces a clause (a part of a sentence that has a subject and a verb).
Structure:
While + subject + verb
Examples:
I listened to music while I was studying. (Here, “I was studying” is the action that happens at the same time as “I listened to music.”)
She cooked dinner while he set the table. (Here, two actions happen at the same time: “She cooked dinner” and “he set the table.”)
Note: “While” is often used with continuous tenses (like “was studying” or “was cooking”) because these tenses express ongoing actions.
2. “DURING”
Usage: “During” is a preposition that is used to indicate when something happens. It refers to a specific period of time or an event.
Structure:
During + noun (period of time/event)
Examples:
I took notes during the lecture. (“The lecture” is the event that took place, and “I took notes” is what happened at that time.)
She stayed quiet during the movie. (“The movie” is the event, and “She stayed quiet” is what happened at that time.)
Note: “During” is not followed by a clause (a subject and a verb). Instead, it is followed by a noun or a noun phrase.
3. Quick Tips to Remember
Use “during” to refer to a specific period or event when something happens.
Use “while” when you want to talk about two actions happening at the same time.
The subjunctive mood in English is used to express wishes, suggestions, demands, or hypothetical situations. It often appears after certain verbs (like “suggest” or “recommend”) and is characterized by using the base form of the verb, even with singular subjects (e.g., “I suggest that he go“). It can also express unreal or hypothetical situations, particularly with “were” (e.g., “If I were you…”).
The subjunctive mood usually uses the base form of the verb in the ‘that clause’, but the verb to be is a special case. The subjunctive is used after certain expressions that contain an order, a request, a hypothetical, or a wish.
It is recommended that she write a speech for the graduation.
It is necessary that the dean prepare a short speech for the ceremony.
We asked that he read the instructions carefully.
It is important that she agree to these terms in the contract.
Jane insisted that the student seek the help of a tutor.
We asked that it be done yesterday.
It might be desirable that you not publish the story.
I support the recommendation that they not be punished.
What about the Verb to Be in the Subjunctive Mood?
The subjunctive mood has one other use: to express wishes and hypothetical situations. Typically, this type of statement includes the word if.
If I were a cat, I would lie in the sun all day. (hypothetical because I’m not a cat)
If I were you, I’d be careful. (hypothetical because I’m not you)
If he were rich, he’d buy a football team. (hypothetical because he’s not rich)
A noun is a word used to identify a person, place, thing, or idea. Nouns are the basic building blocks of sentences and are essential for communication in any language. Examples of nouns include “dog,” “car,” “teacher,” “city,” and “happiness.” Nouns can be singular or plural, and they can also be concrete (tangible objects) or abstract (ideas or concepts). In sentences, nouns often serve as the subject or object, providing clarity and context to the meaning of the sentence.
Examples:
Book (thing) – “She enjoys reading books in her free time.”
Teacher (person) – “The teacher explained the lesson clearly.”
Love (idea) – “Their love for each other grew stronger over time.”
PRONOUN
A pronoun is a word that takes the place of a noun in a sentence. Pronouns are used to avoid repetition and make sentences less cumbersome. They refer back to a previously mentioned noun or group of nouns and help maintain clarity and flow in writing and conversation. Examples of pronouns include “he,” “she,” “it,” “they,” “we,” and “you.” Pronouns can function as subjects, objects, possessives, or reflexives in sentences.
Examples:
He (subject pronoun) – “He went to the store to buy groceries.”
They (subject pronoun) – “They are going to the park this afternoon.”
I (subject pronoun); Her (object pronoun) – “I gave the book to her.”
VERB
A verb is a word that expresses an action, occurrence, or state of being in a sentence. Verbs are essential components of sentences as they convey the action or existence of the subject. They can describe physical actions (e.g., run, jump, eat), mental actions (e.g., think, believe, remember), states of being (e.g., is, are, was), or changes that occur (e.g., become, grow). Verbs can also indicate tense, showing whether an action is happening in the past, present, or future. In English, verbs are conjugated to match the subject in terms of person, number, and tense.
Examples: Run (physical action) – “She runs in the park every morning.”
Think (mental action) – “He thinks before making a decision.”
Is (state of being) – “The cat is sleeping on the windowsill.”
ADJECTIVE
An adjective is a word that describes or modifies a noun or pronoun by providing more information about its qualities, characteristics, or attributes. Adjectives help to make descriptions more vivid and detailed, allowing us to express our thoughts more precisely. They can describe various aspects such as size, color, shape, age, origin, material, or purpose. Adjectives are essential for enriching language and making communication more expressive. Examples of adjectives include “big,” “red,” “round,” “old,” “Italian,” “wooden,” and “useful.”
Examples:
Big (describing size) – “The elephant is a big animal.”
Red (describing color) – “She wore a red dress to the party.”
Happy (describing emotion) – “They felt happy after winning the game.”
ADVERB
An adverb is a word that modifies or describes a verb, adjective, or another adverb in a sentence. Adverbs often provide information about how, when, where, why, or to what extent something happens. They enhance the meaning of the verb or adjective they modify, adding details such as manner, frequency, time, place, degree, or reason. Adverbs can appear in various positions within a sentence and play a crucial role in providing clarity and specificity in communication. Examples of adverbs include “quickly,” “happily,” “often,” “yesterday,” “here,” and “very.”
Examples:
Quickly (modifying the verb “ran”) – “She ran quickly to catch the bus.”
Happily (modifying the verb “smiled”) – “He smiled happily when he saw his friends.”
Often (modifying the verb “visit”) – “They often visit their grandparents on weekends.”
PREPOSITION
A preposition is a word that typically comes before a noun or pronoun and shows the relationship between that noun or pronoun and another word in the sentence. Prepositions usually indicate location, direction, time, or the relationship between objects. They help clarify the spatial or temporal relationship between elements in a sentence, providing important contextual information. Examples of prepositions include “in,” “on,” “at,” “under,” “over,” “beside,” “between,” and “during.”
Examples:
On (location) – “The book is on the table.”
Between (location) – “She stood between her two friends.”
At (location) – “We will meet at the restaurant.”
Under (location) – “The keys are under the mat.”
During (time) – “She fell asleep during the movie.”
CONJUNCTION
A conjunction is a word that connects words, phrases, or clauses in a sentence. Conjunctions are important for joining elements together to form coherent and complete sentences. They can connect similar ideas (coordinating conjunctions), show a relationship between dependent and independent clauses (subordinating conjunctions), or indicate contrast or alternatives (correlative conjunctions). Conjunctions help create smooth transitions between different parts of a sentence, making the overall meaning clearer and more organized. Examples of conjunctions include “and,” “but,” “or,” “if,” “because,” and “although.”
Examples:
And (coordinating) – “She likes to read books and watch movies.”
But (coordinating) – “He wanted to go to the park, but it started raining.”
Because (subordinating) – “They stayed indoors because it was raining heavily.”
DETERMINER
A determiner is a word that comes before a noun to introduce or clarify it. Determiners help specify which noun is being referred to or provide information about the quantity, possession, or definiteness of the noun. They are used to limit or define the scope of a noun in a sentence. Examples of determiners include articles (such as “the,” “a,” and “an”), demonstratives (such as “this,” “that,” “these,” and “those”), possessives (such as “my,” “your,” “his,” “her,” “its,” “our,” and “their”), and quantifiers (such as “some,” “many,” “few,” “several,” “each,” “every,” “both,” “neither,” and “all”). Determiners are essential for providing context and specificity in sentences.
Examples:
The (definite article) – “The cat is sleeping on the mat.”
My (possessive determiner) – “My sister loves to read books.”
Some (quantifier) – “She bought some apples at the store.”
INTERJECTION
An interjection is a word or phrase that expresses emotion, feeling, or sudden reaction in a sentence. Interjections are often used to convey strong emotions such as joy, surprise, anger, pain, or relief. They can stand alone or be inserted into sentences to express the speaker’s immediate reaction or attitude. Interjections are not grammatically connected to other parts of the sentence and are usually followed by an exclamation mark to indicate their emotional intensity. Examples of interjections include “Wow!,” “Ouch!,” “Hey!,” “Oops!,” “Yikes!,” and “Hooray!” Interjections add color and expressiveness to language, allowing speakers to convey their emotions more vividly.
Examples:
Wow! (surprise or admiration) – “Wow! That magic trick was amazing!”
Ouch! (pain) – “Ouch! I stubbed my toe on the table.”
Yikes! (alarm or concern) – “Yikes! I forgot to turn off the stove!”
The words WHOSE and WHO’S may sound the same when spoken (both pronounced /ho͞oz/), but they have very different meanings and uses in English. Learning to use them correctly will help you avoid common mistakes in writing and speaking.
WHOSE: Possessive Pronoun
WHOSE is a possessive pronoun used to ask or talk about ownership or relationships. It shows that something belongs to someone or is connected to someone.
Examples:
Whose bag is this? (Asking who owns the bag.)
I met a girl whose brother is a famous actor. (Talking about the girl’s brother.)
Whose idea was it to organize the trip? (Asking about the person who had the idea.)
Tip: If you see WHOSE in a sentence, it’s always asking or referring to possession.
WHO’S: Contraction
WHO’S is a contraction, meaning it’s a shorter form of who is or who has.
Examples:
Who’s coming to the meeting? (Who is coming to the meeting?)
Who’s been to Italy before? (Who has been to Italy before?)
Do you know who’s in charge of this project? (Who is in charge of this project?)
Tip: To test if WHO’S is correct, try replacing it with who is or who has. If the sentence still makes sense, you’re using the right word.
BE CAREFUL: They Sound the Same!
Both words are pronounced /ho͞oz/, which makes it easy to confuse them when writing. To avoid mistakes, check the following:
Is it asking about or showing possession? If yes, use WHOSE.
Does the sentence need a verb? If yes, use WHO’S (who is or who has).
Summary Chart: WHOSE vs. WHO’S
Word
Function
Meaning
Example
WHOSE
Possessive Pronoun
Belonging to someone
Whose book is this?
WHO’S
Contraction
Who is / Who has
Who’s calling me? / Who’s been here?
By understanding these differences and practicing with real examples, you’ll never confuse WHOSE and WHO’S again!
In English, as in most other languages, there are ways to shorten groups of words that commonly go together. We don’t do this in writing, just when we speak. They are called informal or spoken, contractions.
ain’t – am not/is not/are not – I ain’t gonna lie.
Did you know you can add -EN to some adjectives and nouns to create verbs? This is a powerful and useful suffix in English. It often means “to make” or “to become” something.
In this post, we’ll look at how this suffix works and give you plenty of examples to help you use it correctly.
🔤 What Does the Suffix -EN Mean?
The -EN suffix is added to certain adjectives and nouns to form verbs. These new verbs usually describe a change in state — something becoming or being made a certain way.
✅ Adjective ➡ Verb
When added to an adjective, -EN means “to make” the quality stronger or more true.
Adjective
Verb with -EN
Meaning
wide
widen
to make wide
short
shorten
to make short or shorter
dark
darken
to make or become dark
deep
deepen
to make or become deep
bright
brighten
to make brighter
loose
loosen
to make loose
tight
tighten
to make tight or tighter
📌 Examples in sentences:
We need to widen the road.
The days shorten in winter.
Please tighten the lid.
Clouds began to darken the sky.
✅ Noun ➡ Verb
Some nouns can also take the -EN suffix to form verbs, often with the meaning “to make more of that quality.”
Noun
Verb with -EN
Meaning
strength
strengthen
to make stronger
length
lengthen
to make longer
height
heighten
to make higher
depth
deepen
to make deeper
📌 Examples in sentences:
We need to strengthen the structure.
They want to lengthen the school day.
Meditation can deepen your focus.
⚠️ Not All Adjectives or Nouns Use -EN
Unfortunately, you can’t add -EN to every adjective or noun. For example:
❌ beautyen (instead: beautify)
❌ smarten (instead: smart is already an adjective and verb)
If you’re unsure, check a dictionary to see if the verb form exists.
🧠 Practice Time!
Choose the correct -EN verb to complete each sentence:
The coach told us to ______ our focus.
You should ______ your grip on the handle.
Can we ______ the meeting by 30 minutes?
The medicine helped to ______ the pain.
The sunset began to ______ the sky.
Answers:
deepen
tighten
lengthen
lessen
darken
📝 Summary
The -EN suffix:
Turns adjectives and nouns into verbs
Means “to make” or “to become”
Is used with certain words, not all
Learning how to use -EN verbs can help you express change and transformation clearly in English!
Adjectives are words used to describe a person, place, or thing, for example, The tall man in the red shirt is a friend of mine. We drove along a quiet road until reaching a small town. I’m reading an interesting book. Prepositions are words used to connect two ideas or to demonstrate the relationship between two concepts. Examples of prepositions in English include at, in, on, for, to, with, and from.
Adjective + Preposition Combinations There are many cases in which adjectives are combined with prepositions – but there is no rule stating when to use which combination. As you read and listen to more English, you will become more and more familiar with how these adjective-prepositions combinations are used. Here are a few of the more common combinations of adjectives and prepositions in English.
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