Sunday, August 13, 2017

During and While

During dan While = Selama, sewaktu, pada saat

During dan While masih sering membingungkan mereka yang mempelajari bahasa Inggris karena kata during dan while bisa juga berarti “sewaktu”. Untuk menghindari kebingunan tersebut, perlu dan harus diketahui fungsi dari masing-masing kata.

While adalah kata sambung yang fungsinya menghubungkan dua dua klausa; sedangkan during adalah kata depan  yang selalu diikuti kata benda atau kata-kata lain yang berfungsi sebagai kata benda.
Perhatikan contoh penggunaan kedua kata tersebut (while dan during) dalam kalimat-kalimat berikut:


During my stay in Bali, I spent most of my time on the beach. [Selama saya tinggal di Bali, saya menghabiskan banyak waktu saya di pantai.] Pada kalimat ini yang dipakai adalah During karena diikuti langsung oleh kata benda “My stay…..”. Apabila my stay in Bali kita ganti menjadi kalimat lengkap (ada subjek dan predikat), maka “my stay in Bali” akan menjadi “I was staying in Bali.” Nah bandingkan dua kalimat tersebut:

During my stay in Bali, I spent most of my time on the beach.
While I was staying in Bali, I spent most of my time on the beach.
Jelas kan?

Perhatikan kembali penggunaan while dan during dalam kalimat-kalimat berikut:


  • Ayong came over while I was making a phone call.
  • I would often go to the cinema during my school holidays.
  • He fell asleep during the meeting.
  • Yanto and Erna kept talking while they were attending the seminar.
  • Begadang Restarant is closed during Ramadan Month.
  • During our trip to Bogor, we stopped several times to have something to eat and rest.
  • Making a phone call is not allowed during working hours.
  • You mustn’t make a phone call while you are at work.

Dari contoh-contoh yang diberikan di atas jelas bahwa kata during dipakai apabila diikuti oleh noun atau noun phrase; sedangkan while digunakan apabila diikuti oleh kalimat.


Lengkapi lah kalimat-kalimat berikut dengan While atau During:

  1. We traveled a lot ………………..the winter.
  2. They met John ………….. they were having lunch at a restaurant.
  3. Apri went to many interesting places ………………. his visit to Yogyakarta.
  4. ……………….. my study in London, I came across many Indonesian students.
  5. It rained hard ……………. I was cycling along the dirt road.
  6. I never watch TV ……………. the day time.
  7. Jenni made few mistakes ……………. her tenure.