Friday, December 12, 2014

Prepositions of time: for and during


"He lived in France for three years...  !
FOR expresses the duration of an action. It is used to say how long an action took. We cannot use “during” to express that. Examples:
He lived in France for three years and then went back to England.
We have been waiting here for twenty minutes now and he hasn’t come yet.
We will travel around South America for six months and visit different countries.


"During the conference, the minister talked to the press... "

DURING introduces a period of time in which something happens. Sometimes, “during” can be substituted by “in”.
We saw each other twice during [in] that week.
During the conference, the ministers talked to the press after every meeting.
We never got round to seeing each other during the month that I spent in London.
Practice 
Complete the sentences with for or during.
a) Marc has been studying English ___________ two years.
b) Helen and Peter fell in love _____________ a trip to Africa.
c) ___________ his hunger strike, he didn’t eat anything and only drank water.
d) The workers have been on strike ________________ a week now.

Answers: a- for b- during c- During  d- for


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