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Hans51 Posted 12 years ago
Grammar
While I do / am doing the shopping?
while
1 during the time that something is happening:
They arrived while we were having dinner.
While she was asleep, thieves broke in and stole her handbag.
She met Andy while working on a production of Carmen.
? see usage note during
2 all the time that something is happening:
Would you look after the children while I do the shopping?
This is definitions of the word while and I was wondering if I can also say, "while I am doing the shopping"? Or when it is used for the #2 definition, It should be "do the shopping" or is there a meaning difference between them?
What do you native English speakers think? Thank you so much as usual in advance.
1 during the time that something is happening:
They arrived while we were having dinner.
While she was asleep, thieves broke in and stole her handbag.
She met Andy while working on a production of Carmen.
? see usage note during
2 all the time that something is happening:
Would you look after the children while I do the shopping?
This is definitions of the word while and I was wondering if I can also say, "while I am doing the shopping"? Or when it is used for the #2 definition, It should be "do the shopping" or is there a meaning difference between them?
What do you native English speakers think? Thank you so much as usual in advance.
Top answer
Would you look after the children while I do the shopping ? Would you look after the children while I'm doing the shopping ? Both these seem natural to me, and I see no significant difference in meaning.
- Would you look after the children while I do the shopping ?
- Would you look after the children while I'm doing the shopping ?
- Both these seem natural to me, and I see no significant difference in meaning.
- In conversation, the contraction "I'm" would normally be used.
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3 Answers
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Would you look after the children while I do the shopping?
Would you look after the children while I'm doing the shopping?
Both these seem natural to me, and I see no significant difference in meaning. In conversation, the contraction "I'm" would normally be used.
Would you look after the children while I'm doing the shopping?
Both these seem natural to me, and I see no significant difference in meaning. In conversation, the contraction "I'm" would normally be used.
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Actually, it occurred to me later that in one situation there may be a difference. If it is understood that one of you has to do the shopping, and you are dividing up the tasks, then you would use "while I do the shopping".
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Thank you so much as usual!! So sometimes both are natural and interchangeable for the same meaning but sometimes in some context, one is natural or preferred, right? Or in situations like you gave me, only "While I do the shopping" is possible? What do you think?
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