While en inglés
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While
While (US) o whilst (UK) significa 'mientras que':
While (he was) living in Paris, Bruno created his first perfumes. Mientras vivía en París, Bruno creó sus primeros perfumes.
Icarus stepped into Polly's office while she was putting on her lipstick. Icarus entró en la oficina de Polly mientras que ella se pintaba los labios.
Whilst I was walking peacefully down the street, a wild pigeon defecated on my shoulder. Cuando caminaba tranquilamente por la calle, una paloma salvaje defecó en mi hombro.
While también puede expresar una idea de oposición (a pesar de que, aunque):
While I agree with the President on several issues, I wouldn't trust him for another 4 years. A pesar de que estoy de acuerdo con el presidente en muchos temas, no confiaría en él 4 años más.
While también puede ser un sustantivo que significaría 'rato' o 'tiempo' (este supuesto no se aplica a 'whilst'):
I waited a while before Susie was willing to date me. Esperé un tiempo antes de que Susie quisiera salir conmigo.
After a while, the baby fell asleep. Después de un rato, el bebé se durmió.
once in a while de vez en cuando
Ejercicio 1
Luna: Hey Bob! Can I ask you a favor?
Bob: Of course, Luna. it depends on the favor.
Luna: Great! Can you watch my pets I'm on vacation?
Bob: Sure. What do you have, a couple cats or something?
Luna: Well yes. Three cats -
Bob: Three! Okay, I guess that's not a big deal. As long as they don't bother me my football games on TV-
Luna: And I have thirteen goldfish, six iguanas, two chinchillas, one ferret named Steve and an ant farm.
Bob: Of course, Luna. it depends on the favor.
Luna: Great! Can you watch my pets I'm on vacation?
Bob: Sure. What do you have, a couple cats or something?
Luna: Well yes. Three cats -
Bob: Three! Okay, I guess that's not a big deal. As long as they don't bother me my football games on TV-
Luna: And I have thirteen goldfish, six iguanas, two chinchillas, one ferret named Steve and an ant farm.
Luna: Hey Bob! Can I ask you a favor?
Bob: Of course, Luna. Although 1 it depends on the favor.
Luna: Great! Can you watch my pets while 2 I'm on vacation?
Bob: Sure. What do you have, a couple cats or something?
Luna: Well yes. Three cats -
Bob: Three! Okay, I guess that's not a big deal. As long as they don't bother me during 3 my football games on TV-
Luna: And I have thirteen goldfish, six iguanas, two chinchillas, one ferret named Steve and an ant farm.
Bob: Of course, Luna. Although 1 it depends on the favor.
Luna: Great! Can you watch my pets while 2 I'm on vacation?
Bob: Sure. What do you have, a couple cats or something?
Luna: Well yes. Three cats -
Bob: Three! Okay, I guess that's not a big deal. As long as they don't bother me during 3 my football games on TV-
Luna: And I have thirteen goldfish, six iguanas, two chinchillas, one ferret named Steve and an ant farm.
1 Although: 'Although' often introduces a contrasting idea or expresses a possible doubt, and is synonymous with 'but'. Bob is telling Luna that he would be happy to do her a favor, but he will not do just anything.
1 While: 'While' cannot introduce a statement such as this one. However, it can be used to introduce a contrasting idea in a different type of construction, for example: While I am always happy to chat with you Luna, I really don't have the time right now.
1 Because: 'Because' introduces a relationship of cause, which is not present in this sentence.
1 Since: 'Since' introduces a relationship of cause (or a point in time), which is not present in this sentence.
2 while: 'While' is used to introduce a simultaneous action, or a continuous action that is interrupted by another. Bob will watch Luna's pets 'during the period that' she is away on vacation.
2 during: We can't use 'during' before a verb phrase like 'I'm on vacation'. 'While' is used before verb phrases; 'during' is only used before nouns. For example: 'Bob watched Luna's pets during her vacation'.
2 meanwhile: 'Meanwhile' is usually used at the beginning of a sentence, and cannot be used to link two clauses within the same sentence. For example: 'I was on vacation. Meanwhile, Bob was watching my pets'.
2 in the meantime: 'In the meantime' is used to express simultaneous action, but usually in the short term. For example: I'm going to chop the onions. In the meantime, you set the table. In this construction, 'in the meantime' is not interchangeable with 'while'.
3 during: 'During' links an action (the cats bothering Bob) with an event (the football game on TV). 'During' almost always precedes a noun, (usually an event or period of time) in this case, 'football games'.
3 while: 'While' links two actions and not an action and an event (noun). For example: 'The cat jumped on Bob's head while he was watching football on TV'.
3 since: 'Since' does not make sense in this construction. 'Since' is used to indicate the beginning of a period of time, or to express reason or cause.
3 meanwhile: 'Meanwhile' is usually used at the beginning of a sentence, and cannot be used to link two clauses within the same sentence.
Ejercicio 2
Kevin: Bruno... are you... are you crying?
Bruno: (sniff, sniff) Maybe.
Kevin: What happened?
Bruno: This morning, I was taking out the trash, Stink ran into the street and was hit by a car.
Kevin: Oh sweet mother of god! Is he alright?
Bruno: I don't know. He's been in the hospital the accident. He may be there for a .
Kevin: Is there anything I can do ?
Bruno: You can pray, Connors. You can pray.
Bruno: (sniff, sniff) Maybe.
Kevin: What happened?
Bruno: This morning, I was taking out the trash, Stink ran into the street and was hit by a car.
Kevin: Oh sweet mother of god! Is he alright?
Bruno: I don't know. He's been in the hospital the accident. He may be there for a .
Kevin: Is there anything I can do ?
Bruno: You can pray, Connors. You can pray.
Kevin: Bruno... are you... are you crying?
Bruno: (sniff, sniff) Maybe.
Kevin: What happened?
Bruno: This morning, while 1 I was taking out the trash, Stink ran into the street and was hit by a car.
Kevin: Oh sweet mother of god! Is he alright?
Bruno: I don't know. He's been in the hospital since 2 the accident. He may be there for a while 3.
Kevin: Is there anything I can do in the meantime 4?
Bruno: You can pray, Connors. You can pray.
Bruno: (sniff, sniff) Maybe.
Kevin: What happened?
Bruno: This morning, while 1 I was taking out the trash, Stink ran into the street and was hit by a car.
Kevin: Oh sweet mother of god! Is he alright?
Bruno: I don't know. He's been in the hospital since 2 the accident. He may be there for a while 3.
Kevin: Is there anything I can do in the meantime 4?
Bruno: You can pray, Connors. You can pray.
1 while: 'While' is used to introduce a simultaneous action, or a continuous action that is interrupted by another. During the period of time in which Bruno was taking out the trash, his dog was hit by a car. 'To take out the trash' is to empty garbage or rubbish (from a house or office) by bringing it into the street (where they will be picked up).
1 during: Although 'during' expresses the same meaning as 'while' it cannot be used in the same way. 'While' indicates relative actions and links whole clauses. 'During' links an action and an event or time period. For example: 'I took the trash outside during a rain storm'.
1 meanwhile: 'Meanwhile' is usually used at the beginning of a sentence, and cannot be used to link two clauses within the same sentence.
1 which: 'Which' is either an interrogative pronoun or a relative pronoun or adjective. There is no place for it in this construction.
2 since: 'Since' is often used with the present perfect tense (has been) to introduce the beginning of an action or state which continues up to the present.
2 while: 'While' cannot be used to describe a fixed period of time.
2 from: 'From' cannot be used to describe a period of time in constructions such as this. We could say, however: 'He's been with us from the beginning'.
2 during: This is incorrect. 'During' cannot be used to describe a fixed period of time. 'During' links an action and an event or time period. For example: 'I took the trash outside during a rain storm'.
3 while: This is the best choice here. 'A while' is sometimes used as a noun, meaning 'a certain amount of time', or a 'period of time'.
3 sometimes: 'Sometimes' is grammatically incorrect here. 'Sometimes' is generally used to describe an action which occurs periodically.
3 during: 'During' does not make sense here and it is grammatically incorrect.
3 moment: This is not the best choice here. Although it is grammatically correct, 'moment' implies that Stink will only be in the hospital for a very short period of time: a few minutes for example.
4 in the meantime: The expression 'in the meantime' is used to introduce a simultaneous action or period of time, but usually in the short term. For example: I'm going to chop the onions. In the meantime, you set the table. In this construction, Kevin asks Bruno if he do anything 'in the meantime', expressing that he wants to help Bruno 'while' Stink is in the hospital.
4 once in a while: Although 'once in a while' is grammatically correct here, it does not make sens to use it in this construction. 'Once in a while' is synonymous with 'from time to time', and indicates an action which occurs periodically.
4 from time to time: Although 'from time to time' is grammatically correct here, it does not make sense to use it in this construction. 'From time to time' is synonymous with 'once in a while'. Kevin might say 'I could visit Stink in the hospital from time to time', but this wouldn't have the same meaning as 'in the meantime'.
4 at the end of a moment: 'At the end of a moment' isn't an expression which is used in English.
Ejercicio 3
Last week, the entire Delavigne staff went on vacation the offices were fumigated. Here's what happened: The staff had a big party about a month , someone left a box of sugar cubes on the radiator. Eventually, the sugar melted onto the pipes of the radiator and attracted over 2,000 fire ants, which quickly invaded the offices. And Horatio did his best to hunt them all down individually, there were just too many.
* Melting is the physical process which occurs to a substance when it is heated. We could melt some cheese on a piece of toast, or we could melt the wax on a candle.
* Melting is the physical process which occurs to a substance when it is heated. We could melt some cheese on a piece of toast, or we could melt the wax on a candle.
Last week, the entire Delavigne staff went on vacation while 1 the offices were fumigated. Here's what happened: The staff had a big party about a month ago 2, during which 3 someone left a box of sugar cubes on the radiator. Eventually, the sugar melted onto the pipes of the radiator and attracted over 2,000 fire ants, which quickly invaded the offices. And while 4 Horatio did his best to hunt them all down individually, there were just too many.
* Melting is the physical process which occurs to a substance when it is heated. We could melt some cheese on a piece of toast, or we could melt the wax on a candle.
* Melting is the physical process which occurs to a substance when it is heated. We could melt some cheese on a piece of toast, or we could melt the wax on a candle.
1 while: This is the best choice here. 'While' is used to introduce a simultaneous action, or a continuous action which is interrupted by another action. The staff was on vacation 'during the same time that' the offices were fumigated.
1 during: This is incorrect. Although 'during' expresses the same meaning as 'while' it cannot be used in the same way. 'While' indicates relative actions and links whole clauses. 'During' links an action and an event. For example: 'They were on vacation during the fumigation'.
1 meanwhile: This is incorrect. 'Meanwhile' is usually used at the beginning of a sentence, and cannot be used to link two clauses within the same sentence. For example: 'They were on vacation. Meanwhile, the offices were being fumigated'.
1 during that: This is incorrect. 'During that' is not a valid grammatical construction. However, we could say 'during that month, I was very sad'.
2 ago: This is the best choice here. When we are talking about a time past which is expressed as a period of time, we use 'ago' to describe it. In this case, 'ago' is synonymous with 'before' or 'past'.
2 since: This is incorrect. When 'since' is used to describe a period of time, it is used before the noun. For example: 'They've been away since last month'.
2 while: 'While' is grammatically incorrect here and has no place in this particular construction.
2 there: 'There' is grammatically incorrect here, and and has no place in this particular construction.
3 during which: This is the best choice here. We use the compound construction 'during which' to describe an action that happened during the time of a specific event. 'During' the party, someone left some sugar on the radiator.
3 during: This is incorrect. 'During' is usually used to precede a noun and not an entire clause or action. For example: 'Someone left sugar on the radiator during the party'.
3 while: This is incorrect. 'While' is used to link two actions, not an event (the party) and an action (leaving the sugar on the radiator).
3 meantime: This is incorrect. 'Meantime' is nearly always used in the specific construction 'in the meantime', and appears at the beginning of a sentence, not in between two separate clauses.
4 while: This is the best choice here. 'While' is often used to introduce contrasting ideas, and is synonymous with 'although' or 'even though'. Although Horatio tried to destroy all the ants, there were too many for him to kill.
4 because: This is incorrect. 'Because' introduces a relationship of cause, not contrast.
4 during: This is incorrect. 'During' does not make sense in this construction.
4 since: This is incorrect. 'Since' introduces a relationship of cause, or the beginning of a period of time, not contrast.
Ejercicio 4
Choose the most logical conjunction from the list below for each blank. Each conjunction is used only once.
so that | once | while | although
Every morning, Jean reads a French newspaper he eats his breakfast. He chooses a different newspaper every day he gets a variety of perspectives. he has finished eating, he stops reading, he often takes the paper with him to work.
so that | once | while | although
Every morning, Jean reads a French newspaper he eats his breakfast. He chooses a different newspaper every day he gets a variety of perspectives. he has finished eating, he stops reading, he often takes the paper with him to work.
Choose the most logical conjunction from the list below for each blank. Each conjunction is used only once.
so that | once | while | although
Every morning, Jean reads a French newspaper while 1 he eats his breakfast. He chooses a different newspaper every day so that 2 he gets a variety of perspectives. Once 3 he has finished eating, he stops reading, although 4 he often takes the paper with him to work.
so that | once | while | although
Every morning, Jean reads a French newspaper while 1 he eats his breakfast. He chooses a different newspaper every day so that 2 he gets a variety of perspectives. Once 3 he has finished eating, he stops reading, although 4 he often takes the paper with him to work.
1 while: "While" is used to introduce two clauses that happen simultaneously or a continuous action that is interrupted by another. Every morning, Jean reads the newspaper at the same time as he eats his breakfast. "While" can also be used in a similar way to "even though" and "although", for example: "While Bruno appreciated the gesture, he could not accept the prize".
2 so that: "So that", like "in order to", introduces the objective, aim or goal of an action. Obtaining a variety of perspectives is Jean's objective here: it is the reason why he chooses to read different newspapers. Another example: "I'm learning Japanese so that I can chat with my next-door neighbor, who is from Osaka".
3 Once: As a conjunction, "once" has a similar meaning to "as soon as" or "after". We are saying that after he finishes eating, Jean stops reading. Note that "once" is usually followed by a perfect tense, conjugated using "have". For example: "I usually do the washing-up once I have finished my dinner".
4 although: "Although" introduces a contrast between two ideas, and is similar in meaning to "in spite of", "despite" or "regardless of". Here, we are saying that Jean stops reading, but takes the newspaper to work (and perhaps continues reading later). Another example: "I don't normally eat cake, although I make an exception when it's someone's birthday".
Ejercicio 5
Luna: Hey Bob! Can I ask you a favor?
Bob: Of course, Luna. it depends on the favor.
Luna: Great! Can you watch my pets I'm on vacation?
Bob: Sure. What do you have, a couple cats or something?
Luna: Well yes. Three cats -
Bob: Three! Okay, I guess that's not a big deal. As long as they don't bother me my football games on TV-
Luna: And I have thirteen goldfish, six iguanas, two chinchillas, one ferret named Steve and an ant farm.
Bob: Of course, Luna. it depends on the favor.
Luna: Great! Can you watch my pets I'm on vacation?
Bob: Sure. What do you have, a couple cats or something?
Luna: Well yes. Three cats -
Bob: Three! Okay, I guess that's not a big deal. As long as they don't bother me my football games on TV-
Luna: And I have thirteen goldfish, six iguanas, two chinchillas, one ferret named Steve and an ant farm.
Luna: Hey Bob! Can I ask you a favor?
Bob: Of course, Luna. Although 1 it depends on the favor.
Luna: Great! Can you watch my pets while 2 I'm on vacation?
Bob: Sure. What do you have, a couple cats or something?
Luna: Well yes. Three cats -
Bob: Three! Okay, I guess that's not a big deal. As long as they don't bother me during 3 my football games on TV-
Luna: And I have thirteen goldfish, six iguanas, two chinchillas, one ferret named Steve and an ant farm.
Bob: Of course, Luna. Although 1 it depends on the favor.
Luna: Great! Can you watch my pets while 2 I'm on vacation?
Bob: Sure. What do you have, a couple cats or something?
Luna: Well yes. Three cats -
Bob: Three! Okay, I guess that's not a big deal. As long as they don't bother me during 3 my football games on TV-
Luna: And I have thirteen goldfish, six iguanas, two chinchillas, one ferret named Steve and an ant farm.
1 Although: 'Although' often introduces a contrasting idea or expresses a possible doubt, and is synonymous with 'but'. Bob is telling Luna that he would be happy to do her a favor, but he will not do just anything.
1 While: 'While' cannot introduce a statement such as this one. However, it can be used to introduce a contrasting idea in a different type of construction, for example: While I am always happy to chat with you Luna, I really don't have the time right now.
1 Because: 'Because' introduces a relationship of cause, which is not present in this sentence.
1 Since: 'Since' introduces a relationship of cause (or a point in time), which is not present in this sentence.
2 while: 'While' is used to introduce a simultaneous action, or a continuous action that is interrupted by another. Bob will watch Luna's pets 'during the period that' she is away on vacation.
2 during: We can't use 'during' before a verb phrase like 'I'm on vacation'. 'While' is used before verb phrases; 'during' is only used before nouns. For example: 'Bob watched Luna's pets during her vacation'.
2 meanwhile: 'Meanwhile' is usually used at the beginning of a sentence, and cannot be used to link two clauses within the same sentence. For example: 'I was on vacation. Meanwhile, Bob was watching my pets'.
2 in the meantime: 'In the meantime' is used to express simultaneous action, but usually in the short term. For example: I'm going to chop the onions. In the meantime, you set the table. In this construction, 'in the meantime' is not interchangeable with 'while'.
3 during: 'During' links an action (the cats bothering Bob) with an event (the football game on TV). 'During' almost always precedes a noun, (usually an event or period of time) in this case, 'football games'.
3 while: 'While' links two actions and not an action and an event (noun). For example: 'The cat jumped on Bob's head while he was watching football on TV'.
3 since: 'Since' does not make sense in this construction. 'Since' is used to indicate the beginning of a period of time, or to express reason or cause.
3 meanwhile: 'Meanwhile' is usually used at the beginning of a sentence, and cannot be used to link two clauses within the same sentence.
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