Leçon d’anglais – WHILE, WHILST, WHEN, MEANWHILE, DURING

Distinguishing while, whilst, during, when

There is no semantic difference between “while” and “whilst”: “while” is more common, whereas “whilst” is more formal:

“while” expresses the simultaneity of two actions.
“while” (“whilst”) emphasises the contrast of two things or actions (that may be happening at the same time):
1. “Susan was watching football, while John was doing the dishes.” “leisure” versus “work” (both at the same time)
2. “Susan likes watching football while / whilst John loves doing the dishes.” “leisure versus “work” (general, not simultaneously) / “In terms of professions, women like doctors, whilst men prefer freelancers.”

In the old trains were no system to prevent the doors from opening while the train was moving.
Words we should not use while talking about social or racial differences: …”
While he was working, he often listened to music.
While the radio is turned on, press and hold the MC button for three seconds to turn the Radio off.
Whilst /While considering maximum levels of pesticides, it should also be recognised that few consumers are aware of the risks arising from pesticides.
Whilst women tend to focus on the emotional aspects of pain they experience, men tend to focus on the sensory aspects, for example concentrating on the physical sensations they experience.
Whilst / While robots will not replace a good adviser, they can help them in their work thanks to high-performance algorithms.
People living in the countryside are more likely to display dislike about wind turbines in their backyard, while / whilst people living in small towns are generally more in favour of wind power.

Sometimes “while” can have the same meaning as “when” when it refers to two actions happening at the same time:

A snowball smashed the windowpane of the kitchen, when / while I was preparing the meal. (somethings happens once during an action)”

“when” refers to a particular point in time:

I cook the meal when I have got time.
When the postman knocked at the door, she opened the door. (NOT: “While the postman ….”)

“while” is a conjonction, “meanwhile” is an adverb. Meanwhile could be replaced by “at the same time”, “simultaneously”:

CONJUNCTION: He often listens to music, while he is working.
ADVERB: He was working. Meanwhile / At the same time he was listening to music.

“during” refers to two simultaneous actions like “while” and “meanwhile”. The only difference being grammatical as during is a preposition:

During his work he was listening to music. (work is here a noun.)
During my cooking smashed a snowball the kitchen window. (the cooking)
During the football match I was doing the dishes! / I was doing the dishes during the football match!