• while vs. since

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• while vs. sinceHi!I read the following question in a TOEIC book:“124. Ms. Hilburn will teach the accounting course for new employees ______ the financial manager attends the conference.A. inB. whileC. sinceD. without(Answer: B)” ((Hackers TOEIC 1000 Questions, Test 5))I have two questions.Q1. Do you agree with the above that B is ONLY correct?Q2. If you do, would you please explain why C is not correct? (To make C correct, how would you change the original sentence?Thanks in advance.

USF · Accepted Answer

Q1: Yes.
Q2: First a little explanation:
"Since" meanings:
since
~ from a particular time in the past until a later time, or until now

(adverb)
e.g.

Emma went to work in New York a year ago, and we haven't seen her since.
He started working for the company when he left school, and has been there ever since (= and is still there) .

I've long since (= long ago) forgotten any Latin I ever learned.

(prep.)
e.g.

England have not won the World Cup in football since 1966.
It was the hottest October since records began.

(conj.)

from a particular time in the past until a later time, or until now

I've been very busy since I came back from holiday.

~ because, as

(conj.)

Since we've got a few minutes to wait for the train, let's have a cup of coffee.

Since (in the meaning of because) your example is about two concurrent activity, it cannot be modified with "since". You can choose one of them as a reference and then use since to indicate the beginning of the other process, but it doesn't necessarily imply concurrent activities.

P.S. we can use “since” with the future perfect progressive tense.

e.g. We will have been watching TV since 3 of clock.

• while vs. since

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