During vs for - what's the difference?
For = length of time. Tells you how long something lasted."I studied for three hours.""She lived in Paris for two years."During = within a named period. Tells you when something happened, using a named time."I fell asleep during the film.""He called during the meeting."The difference in practice:...
For = length of time. Tells you how long something lasted.
"I studied for three hours."
"She lived in Paris for two years."
During = within a named period. Tells you when something happened, using a named time.
"I fell asleep during the film."
"He called during the meeting."
The difference in practice
"I was ill for the summer." - the illness lasted the whole summer (duration)
"I was ill during the summer." - at some point in the summer (within that period)
Common mistake
Using during with a length of time:
"I was there during three hours." β β "I was there for three hours." β
"He slept during the night." β (night = named period)
"He slept for eight hours." β (eight hours = length)
Tip
If you can replace the word with "throughout the period of," use during. If you can replace it with "for a length of," use for.
What does "During vs for - what's the difference?" mean?
For = length of time. Tells you how long something lasted."I studied for three hours.""She lived in Paris for two years."During = within a named period. Tells you when something happened, using a named time."I fell asleep during the film.""He called during the meeting."The difference in practice:...
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