When is used, with simple tenses:

1. When one action occurs at the same time as another or in the span of another:
1. When it is wet the buses are crowded. When we lived in town we often went to the theatre. When one action follows another: When he explained the situation she calmed down.

As is used: 1. When the second action occurs before the first is finished:

As I walked through the park I remembered about my mother's birthday.

The above sentence implies that I remembered about my mother's birthday before had completed the action of walking thorugh the park; I was probably still in the park. While I was walking would have the same meaning here, but When I walked would give the impression that the act of walking through the park was complete and he was no longer in the park.

1. For parallel actions:

The men whistled as she walked past.

1. For parallel development: As he listened to the story he grew more and more curious. The darker it grew, the colder it became. As he worked harder he was getting more and more money for his work.

If we used when here we would lose all idea of simultaneous progression or development.

To mean while:

As he was watching TV his wife was preparing a meal.

However, there is no particular advantage in using as here, and while is safer.

For each sentence, choose the best word or phrase to complete the gap from the choices below.

1. Please phone me __ you get home tonight 2. It rained a lot___ the night 3. I met a lot of people ____ I was at university. 4. The phone rang just ____ I was getting into the bath. 5.
I've been busy working on the project,_____ he's just been sitting around eating pizza.

6. I don't like it ____ people waste my time. It makes me really angry. 7. Why don't you go and see a film ____ you're waiting for the car to be repaired. 8. I've never heard such a stupid story ___ all my years in the job. 9. We'll let you know ____ we find something suitable for you. 10. I watched ______ the doctors tried desperately to save the injured man. 11. The phones were very busy ____ the morning. I haven't had a moment to do anything else. 12. He fell asleep ______ driving along the motorway. That's why he's lucky to be alive.

Your answers
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A A A A A A A A A

during while while while During when then when while when while while

B B B B B B B B B B B B

while when as as While while when while when in when when

C C C C C C C C C C C C

as during when when As during while during during during during as

D D D D D D D D D D D D

when as during during When as during as as as as during

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1. The garden is wet; it must have rained a lot DURING 2. Good bye Sonia! Please phone me WHEN 3. Why don't you go shopping WHILE
be repaired?

the night.

you get home.

you are waiting for your car to my whole life.

4. I've never heard such a strange story DURING 5. I watched AS

the firemen tried to put out the fire. I was getting into the bath. he could easily afford to buy them?

6. The doorbell rang just AS

7. Why does he steal things WHEN

8. Mary washed up and made coffee WHEN 9. John fell asleep WHILE
be alive.

the meal was finished.

driving along the motorway. He is lucky to I do the shopping?

10. Would you look after the children WHILE

11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23. 24. 25.

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When to use 'while', 'when' and 'as'

We can use all of these words to talk about a background activity. For example, While the music was playing, they walked around the chairs. The phone rang, when he was reading the book. As I was leaving, I saw the mail person delivering the mail. We usually use the progressive or continuous (be + ~ing) tense for 'when', 'while', and 'as', but we can also use the simple tense for 'as' and 'while'. For example, As I sat on the bench, I thought about my life. While I ate my lunch, they were doing my dry cleaning. Be careful! If we use 'when' with a simple tense, it means at that moment. When I opened the door, the cat jumped out.

While vs. When

These two words can usually be used in the same place. However, there are some times when they can not be used in the same place. When we talk about time periods we usually use 'when'. For example, When I was three, my family moved to Texas. (NOT while I was three,...) When I was in college, I drank a lot. (NOT while I was in college,...)

In general, the word 'when' is used for shorter time periods, but 'while' is used for longer continuous time periods. For example, When I was eating lunch, I saw a band playing in the park. (It seems like I saw the band and did some other things too) While I was eating lunch, I saw a band playing in the park. (I just saw the band the whole time. I didn't do anything else.) Do you think you understand? Let's take a short quiz. While vs. When quiz 1) ______ I ran to the store, my wife washed the windows. A) While B) When C) As

2) _____ I was living in Chicago, there was a big blizzard. A) While B) When C) As

3) _____ I fell down, I heard a snap. A) While B) When C) As

Answers 1) A) or C) These two are the most natural. 2) B) We usually use 'when' to talk about periods of time. 3) B) We use 'when' because the snap happened at about the same time as I fell down.

When and While

Question: How do I choose between when and while? Grammar: Adverbs (time expressions) When is used for shorter actions, and while is used for longer actions. When is usually used with simple tenses, and while with progressive tenses. For example, lets look at two actions, one short and one long: Short action Fall down (it only takes a second to fall down)

Long action Ride a bike (bike rides can last a long time) Because one is long and one is short, these two actions cant happen at the same time. The short action interrupts the long action: I was riding my bike when I fell down. I fell down while I was riding my bike. Lets consider two more actions: Reading a book Telephone ringing It is clear that the telephone ringing is the shorter action, it only takes a few seconds: I was reading a book when the telephone rang. The telephone rang while I was reading a book.