Grammar · Free lesson
During or for: when, or how long?
You talked to a colleague at a workshop. Was it during the break? And did you talk for five minutes or twenty? These are different pieces of information.
Professor Scott MendozaThe short answer
Use during the meeting to say when something happened. Use for twenty minutes to say how long it lasted. During does not automatically mean the whole meeting.
Separate the event from the length.
During is followed by an event or period noun phrase: during lunch, during the presentation. For can introduce a length: for a few seconds, for half an hour. Both can appear together because they answer different questions.
Compare the examples
We talked during the break.
We talked for twenty minutes.
During the break, we talked for twenty minutes.
During takes a noun phrase, not a complete clause. Say during the presentation or while she was presenting.
Build the meaning step by step
Locate the conversation
During the workshop, ...
Add its length
... we talked for half an hour.
Try it now
Choose the time relationship
Read all answers and explanations
Your call lasted twelve minutes. Complete: We spoke ___ twelve minutes.
forTwelve minutes is the length, so use for. During needs an event or period; while normally introduces a clause here.
The alarm rang once, briefly, inside the talk. Which sentence fits?
The alarm rang during the talk.During locates the ringing inside the talk. It does not say that it continued from beginning to end. After places it later.
Choose the natural event phrase.
during her presentationHer presentation is a noun phrase. Use while she presented for a clause, and for twenty minutes for a duration.
Put it into practice
Fix the waiting time
You waited exactly twenty minutes before entering. Correct the sentence.
We waited during twenty minutes.
See a model answer
We waited for twenty minutes.
Keep the same event and duration; only the preposition changes.
A little more clarity
Common questions
A few useful details before you move on.
Does during mean the whole event?
Not necessarily. The context decides whether something happened briefly or continued. Use throughout or an explicit whole-period phrase when that is the point.
My phone rang once during the meeting.
Can during and for appear in the same sentence?
Yes. For gives the length of the activity, while during names the event within which it happened. The two phrases answer different questions.
I studied for two hours during the flight.
Take it into your day
During places an action in a period; for gives its duration.
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