while

Question

Hi,Is there any difference in meaning between the two sentences here?'She looked after the children while I did the shopping.''I did the shopping while she looked after the children.'Thanks.

Clive · Accepted Answer

Hi,
Just a slight difference in emphasis in how the information is given to the reader.

Clive

Anonymous · Answer

Hi Clive,

Thank you for your reply. Could you please tell me which part it emphasizes on for the sentence below?

'She looked after the children while I did the shopping.'

CalifJim · Answer

AnonymousIs there any difference in meaning between the two sentences here?

No. Not really. Not in this case. But that is not true generally for all sentences with while clauses.
To my ear the while clause selects and highlights the important or larger activity. The sentence as a whole says what was going on within the time, scope, or context of that "while" activity.
For example, to my ear, I stood by and watched while she cooked dinner is perhaps slightly more usual than She cooked dinner while I stood by and watched. It is my standing by and watching that accompanies, in some sense, her cooking dinner -- not the other way around. My standing by and watching takes places within the context of her cooking.

Again, I waited patiently for an answer while she fidgeted nervously means that my waiting accompanies, in some sense, her fidgeting. On the other hand, it seems to me that She fidgeted nervously while I waited patiently for an answer gives the impression that her fidgeting accompanies, in some sense, my waiting. I think the second of these might be a bit more usual, because the fidgeting seems to take place within the context of my waiting -- not the other way around.
It's hard to judge in your example whether looking after the children or doing the shopping is the background activity that sets the context for the other activity, so the two versions are about as equal as you can get with this type of sentence.
CJ

Clive · Answer

Hi,

Could you please tell me which part it emphasizes on for the sentence below?
'She looked after the children while I did the shopping.'

I would look at it from a grammar point of view.

The main clause is 'She looked after the children'.

'While I did the shopping' is a subordinate clause.

Generally speaking, the main clause is where I would expect to find what the speaker considers the main information.

Best wishes, Clive

Anonymous · Answer

Hi Clive and CJ,
Thank you very much for your answers.

while

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