Question 1

How do I decide between for the summer and during the summer?

Accepted Answer

"For the summer" treats the summer as the length of a situation or arrangement: "She worked in Bristol for the summer" means the job lasted through that period. "During the summer" places an action inside the summer: "She visited Bristol during the summer" means the visit happened at some point in that period. The difference is not the noun "summer"; it is the meaning of the whole sentence. If the phrase measures how long the situation lasted, choose "for". If it tells when it happened, choose "during".

Question 2

Can for and during both be possible with journeys and meetings?

Accepted Answer

Yes, but the meaning changes. "We talked for the meeting" is not normally a time phrase; it sounds like purpose. "We talked during the meeting" means the talking happened inside the meeting. However, "We talked for the whole meeting" is correct because it measures duration: the talking lasted from start to finish. Journeys work in a similar way. "She slept during the journey" tells when she slept. "She slept for the whole journey" tells how long the sleep lasted overall.

Question 3

What test helps with tricky for versus during questions?

Accepted Answer

Ask two questions. First, does the phrase answer "How long?" If yes, use "for": "for several weeks", "for the entire lesson", "for most of the afternoon". Second, does it answer "When?" by naming the event or period around another action? If yes, use "during": "during the lesson", "during the afternoon", "during the interview". In many medium-level sentences, both time and event words appear nearby. The correct answer depends on the job of the preposition, not only the noun after it.

For vs During - Medium 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