in the meantime

Question

Hi,'He was sleeping when someone stole his bike.'Could I use 'in the meantime' to rewrite the sentence? e.g.'He was sleeping and in the meantime someone stole his bike.'Do the two sentences have the same meaning?Thanks.

Clive · Accepted Answer

Hi,

'He was sleeping when someone stole his bike.'

Could I use 'in the meantime' to rewrite the sentence? e.g.

'He was sleeping and in the meantime someone stole his bike.'

Do the two sentences have the same meaning?

No. 'In the meantime' means 'in the intervening period'. eg

I'm going out now. I'll be back in an hour. In the meantime, turn off the TV and do your homework.

Best wishes, Clive

Anonymous · Answer

Hi Clive,

Many thanks to your correction. The following context is from a book, I wonder if 'in the meantime' is fine to use here, could you please help me to check it. And if the phrase is ok here, what does it mean? If not, what expression could be used instead of 'in the meantime' here?

"If I had the chance to become a college student, I would try my best to expand my knowlege. In the meantime, I would also take part in extracurricular activities such as sports."

Thanks

Clive · Answer

Hi,

Many thanks to your correction. The following context is from a book, I wonder if 'in the meantime' is fine to use here, could you please help me to check it. And if the phrase is ok here, what does it mean? If not, what expression could be used instead of 'in the meantime' here?

"If I had the chance to become a college student, I would try my best to expand my knowlege. In the meantime, I would also take part in extracurricular activities such as sports."

I wouldn't say 'In the meantime', because the trying and the taking part would happen at the same time. So, I'd say 'At the same time, I would also take part in . . . '

Clive

Anonymous · Answer

Hi Clive,

Thank you very much for your kind reply. However, I'm still a little confused about the use of 'in the meantime'. I found out an example of it from dictionary online as follows:

in the meantime

while something else is happening or until something else happens. e.g.

"A new school is being built, but in the meantime this school building remains seriously overcrowded."

'In the meantime' seems to mean 'at the same time' here to me. Do you think so too?

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Could we use 'meanwhile' or 'meantime' instead of 'in the meantime' in the following sentence?

'Your computer won't be arriving till Thursday. In the meantime, you can use Jude's.'

Thank you very much.

Clive · Answer

Hi,

I'm still a little confused about the use of 'in the meantime'. I found out an example of it from dictionary online as follows:

in the meantime

while something else is happening or until something else happens. e.g.

"A new school is being built, but in the meantime this school building remains seriously overcrowded."

'In the meantime' seems to mean 'at the same time' here to me. Do you think so too? 'It seems to me that 'in the meantime' here really means 'from now until the new school is built and open for use'.

------------------------

Could we use 'meanwhile' or 'meantime' instead of 'in the meantime' in the following sentence?

'Your computer won't be arriving till Thursday. In the meantime, you can use Jude's.' 'Meanwhile' is fine. 'Meantime' is just an informal, shortened form of 'in the meantime'.

Clive

Anonymous · Answer

Hi Clive

Thank you for helping me clear it up. You have been so helpful. I really appriciate it.

in the meantime

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