For vs During #englishgrammar

Added: 2026-05-25

[00:00:00]We use during to talk about when an action happens.

[00:00:06]For example, I fell asleep during the meeting.

[00:00:12]We have the action, I fell asleep, and we have a time frame, the meeting.

[00:00:20]I fell asleep during the meeting. So, this sentence explains when I fell asleep and in what time frame.

[00:00:30]Another example, it snowed during the night.

[00:00:36]The night is the time frame.

[00:00:39]It snowed during the night. It snowed is the action followed by the time frame, during the night.

[00:00:47]However, we use for to talk about how long.

[00:00:53]For example, I walked for 40 minutes.

[00:00:59]We have lived here for 2 years.

[00:01:03]So, in each case here, you have a length of time. 40 minutes and 2 years are lengths of time. So, to summarize, with for we have a length of time, and with during we're talking about one action happening at the same time as another action. Now, let's do a quick quiz to test your knowledge.

[00:01:28]Is this sentence correct? I studied during 2 hours.

[00:01:35]Is it correct or incorrect?

[00:01:39]Right, it's incorrect. It's incorrect because 2 hours is a length of time. So, we need to use for.

[00:01:49]I studied for 2 hours. What about this sentence? I ate a lot during my holiday.

[00:01:58]Is it correct or incorrect?

[00:02:02]It is correct because we have a time frame, a specific time frame, my holiday, and we have an action. So, the action is I ate a lot during time frame, my holiday.