0
Yzh1978 Posted 12 years ago
Grammar

While

I am singing while coming into the room.
I am singing while he was coming into the room.
Why the first sentence is right and the second sentence is wrong?
  

Top answer

The tenses in the second sentence don't match. The use of "while" with "coming into the room" seems unusual. It seems to suggest that the process of coming into the room takes longer than would normally be the case.

— GPY

  • The tenses in the second sentence don't match.
  • The use of "while" with "coming into the room" seems unusual.
  • It seems to suggest that the process of coming into the room takes longer than would normally be the case.
Free · every Monday

Get the Weekly English Kit 📬

New words, one handy idiom, and a 2-minute quiz — delivered to your inbox to keep your streak alive.

5 Answers
0
The tenses in the second sentence don't match.

The use of "while" with "coming into the room" seems unusual. It seems to suggest that the process of coming into the room takes longer than would normally be the case.
0
0
So why the first one is right? Thank you !
0
0
yzh1978So why the first one is right? Thank you !
It is understood to mean "I am singing while I am coming into the room". It is not a common thing to say.
0
0
Thank you, but I found this in an online dictionary:

If something happens while something else is happening, the two things are happening at the same time.

Example:They were grinning and watching while one man laughed and poured beer over the head of another.
In the sentence, " pour" and "laugh" are continous verbs while "come" is an instant verb, so while "coming" is not right?
0
0
"while" usually suggests that the activity(ies) lasted for a noticeable length of time. Coming into a room is usually something that happens all at once. One moment you are outside the room, the next you are inside it. It does not seem to last long enough for something else to happen "while" it is going on.
0

Related Questions