Learn English – When doing / while doing

conjunctionssentence-constructionsentence-meaning

I am a little confused about using "when v-ing" and "while v-ing". When should I use "when v-ing" instead of "while v-ing" ?

1- Always keep some change with you. It’s useful when buying a
bus ticket.

2- Always keep some change with you. It’s useful while buying a
bus ticket. (The dictionary say this usage is wrong)

3- Be careful when crossing the road.

4- Be careful while crossing the road. (Is it correct to use while here? )

5- I used to read a book when using public transport.

6- I used to read a book while using public transport. (Again, is it correct to use while here?)

Best Answer

"We can use while to talk about two longer events or activities happening at the same time" (Cambridge Dictionary).

You can use "while" only in the examples 6, and maybe 4, because only there you have two longer events happening at the same time. (I personally do not feel that crossing the road is a "long event," though). So, both events need to be longer, which means, they are happening in a period of time rather than in a moment of time. But you could also use "when," as in the example 5.

You can always use "when," but you can use "while" only for two longer events.

So, 1, 3, 4, 5 and 6 are correct, but 2 is not.

There's a very clear presentation of using when and while on Grammar-Quizzes.com.

Related Topic