Difference between for and during in English
The difference
between for and during is pretty confusing for many learners of English.
However, despite semantic similarity, they are used in a different way. The
problem seems to be that in other languages, like in Spanish, these two words
(for and during) are translated as a same word. In the case of Spanish for and
during are translated as durante, which unfortunately for learners is pretty
similar to during.
The use of for in English
The word for is
a preposition which is usually followed by “a/an” or a number, plus a unit of
time (seconds, minutes, hours, days, weeks, months, years, etc.). This
preposition is used to express the duration of something:
I have lived in
Granada for 10 years.
We have known
each other for a couple of months.
The film lasted
for 2 hours.
If we pay close
attention, the preposition for answers always the question “How long…?”:
How long have
you lived in Granada? (For) 10 years.
How long have
you known each other? (For) a couple of months.
How long did
the film last for? It lasted for 2 hours.
In this way, it
is relatively easy to identify when to use for.
The use of during in English
During is
another English preposition which tells us when something happens in time.
Besides, it is usually followed by a noun which is not necessarily a time unit.
Let’s see some examples:
We couldn’t get
any cigarettes during the war.
He died during
the night.
All the hotels
are full during the summer season.
In the same way
as for, during also answers a question, but not “How long…?”, but rather
“When…?”:
When couldn’t
you get any cigarettes? During the war.
When did he
die? During the night.
When are all
the hotels full? During the summer season.
In conclusion,
according to the previous examples, the difference between for and during is
that for tells us how long an action is, while during tells us when something
happened. For this reason, if you ever need to know which one to use, you can
ask yourself: Do I need to answer “How long…?” or “When…?”. It’s
that simple!
SOURCE: keepsmilingenglish.com
