FOR - DURING - WHILE


For, during and while are used in time expressions.


FOR
For is followed by a length of time : for one hour.
It answers the question : How long?

I have been standing here for 10 minutes.
Tony is going to San Francisco for a week.
My parents lived in London for 2 years.


DURING
During is followed by a noun.
It means 'throughout the period' or 'in the course of' an action or event.

During the summer I go to the beach as often as possible.
Exercises were given to us during the lesson.
The bank was robbed during the night.


WHILE
While is followed by a subect and a verb.
It means 'during the time that an action was taking place'.

They held hands while they were watching the film..
The students took notes while the teacher was speaking.
We'll collect some seashells while we're walking on the beach