For - During - While The 3 most common English prepositions that are used to represent time are: for - while - during.

For - The preposition "for" is used to express how long something or someone is doing something. "For" is used to state a period of time and is usually used with a noun/pronoun (or any other form of nouns).

1. I have been riding my bicycle for 2 hours.
2. The dog has been barking for a long time.
3. The traffic has been bad for the last three days.

While - The preposition "while" is used to represent the length of time an action has been happening. "While" is used when speaking about 2 actions that are happing at the same time. The length of the action is not important. "While" is used with a subject and a verb.

1. While I was playing with my dog, my sister was doing her homework.
2. While we are playing cards, the radio was playing.
3. My mother doesn't like the T. V. on while we are eating dinner.

During -The preposition "during" is used to represent the length of time of an action that is while the action is happening. "During" is used with a noun/pronoun (or any other form of nouns).

1. I will be really busy during the week.
2. The kids were sleeping during the party.
3. The lights went out during the storm.

Exercise: Fill in the blanks with for, during, or while.

1. My uncle died ______ the war.
2. The phone rang ______ I was eating brunch.
3. I lived in Denpasar ______ several years.
4. ______ I was in Geneva, I made lots of friends.
5. Last week I was held up ______ four hours because of the traffic.
6. A salesman knocked on our door ______ we were watching a movie.
7. I hurt my leg ______ the third quarter of the basketball game.
8. A game of rugby usually lasts ______ eighty minutes.
9. ______ my stay in hospital, the nurses looked after me very well.
10. I was traveling through Mumbai ______ six weeks last summer.
11. He's been working _____ three weeks.
12. I fell asleep _____ the film.
13. Did you see Tom _____ your vacation?
14. We talked _____ an hour.
15. She watched TV _____ I cooked.
16. _____ our stay in London, we visited a lot of museums.
17. What did you do _____ you were in London?
18. I think I need to study French _____ a few months before I go there.
19. I came up with a great idea _____ I was thinking about my class.
20. They drove through the countryside _____ they were staying in France.

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