Question 1

What is the basic difference between for and during?

Accepted Answer

Use "for" when the phrase tells you the length of time: "for two hours", "for a week", "for a long time". It answers "How long?" Use "during" when the phrase tells you the event or period when something happened: "during the meeting", "during lunch", "during the summer". It answers "When?" A quick test is to look at the words after the gap. If you see a number or duration, choose "for". If you see an event, activity, or named period, choose "during".

Question 2

Can during be followed by a number of hours or days?

Accepted Answer

No, not when the number gives the length of time. Say "for two hours", "for three days", or "for six months". Do not say "during two hours" if you mean the activity lasted two hours. "During" needs a noun phrase that names an event or period, such as "during the two-hour meeting". In that phrase, "meeting" is the event, and "two-hour" only describes it. The difference is important: "for two hours" tells duration; "during the meeting" tells when something happened.

Question 3

Why is during the meeting correct but for the meeting often wrong?

Accepted Answer

"During the meeting" means something happened inside the time of the meeting: "She took notes during the meeting." The phrase answers "When did she take notes?" "For the meeting" usually means purpose, not time: "I prepared slides for the meeting" means the slides were intended for it. If you want to say how long the meeting lasted, use "for": "The meeting lasted for an hour." If you want to say when another action happened, use "during": "My phone rang during the meeting."

For vs During - Easy Exercises

Quick Rule

All 20 questions

Continue Practising

For vs Since - Easy

For vs Since - Medium

For vs Since - Hard

-ed vs -ing Adjectives

Conditionals

Present Perfect