how to use "during"

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ESL forum > Ask for help > how to use "during"

how to use "during"

Ruwayda37

how to use "during"

Good day fellow teachers,

Could you please tell me if the word "during" could be followed by a verb+ing?

Is it possible to say:

During mending his car, it rained?

Thanks a lot

6 Nov 2016

Pedro14

It doesn �t sound correct to me. I am not a native speaker though. I would say "While he was mending his car, it rained." I use "during + noun" so I would say "During his car repair, it rained".

6 Nov 2016

Firefox_360

I agree with Pedro14. I can �t think of any examples where following �during � with an �ing � verb would sound correct:

During painting the picture, it was sunny.

During running the race, the crowd cheered.

During fixing the leak, the radio played music loudly.

Using two �ing � words together sounds awkward and the sentence doesn �t indicate who is doing the action.

Using �while � to show two things happening at the same time makes more sense, although it could be worth moving the sentence around to see which order sounds the clearest:

It was sunny while she painted the picture.

The crowd cheered while he ran the race.

While he fixed the leak, the radio played music loudly.

I hope that helps!

6 Nov 2016

FrauSue

Iagree-During+noun,while+gerund.

6 Nov 2016

yanogator

I agree with the others, and would like to add to Firefox �s answer. Firefox is gently pointing out that even if you change to "while", the first clause needs a subject.

While he was mending his car, it rained.

Bruce

6 Nov 2016

Ruwayda37

Thanks a million for your explicit clarification and taking the time to help me! I understand it now. Have a good day!

6 Nov 2016