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Prepositions - For - During - While

How are prepositions - for - while - during used?

The 3 most common English prepositions that are used to represent time are: for - while - during.

For - The preposition "for" is used to express how long something or someone is doing something. "For" is used to state a period of time and is usually used with a noun/pronoun (or any other form of nouns) .

    • I have been riding my bicycle for 2 hours.
    • The dog has been barking for a long time.
    • The traffic has been bad for the last three days.

While - The preposition "while" is used to represent the length of time an action has been happening.
"While" is used when speaking about 2 actions that are happing at the same time. The length of the action is not important.
"While" is used with a subject and a verb.

    • While I was playing with my dog, my sister was doing her homework.
    • While we are playing cards, the radio was playing.
    • My mother doesn't like the T. V. on while we are eating dinner.

During -The preposition "during" is used to represent the length of time of an action that is while the action is happening.
"During" is used with a noun/pronoun (or any other form of nouns).

    • I will be really busy during the week.
    • The kids were sleeping during the party.
    • The lights went out during the storm.