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Subordinating conjunctions
Angel Maximiliano García Gamboa
Created on November 27, 2024
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Subordinating conjunctions: as / when / while
It is important to remember that subordinate clauses can not have a meaning on their own. They need another clause to be understood. The conjunctions help us to give them a meaning as we want to add information to a situation. We can use "as, when and while" to mean ‘during the time that’, to connect two events happening at the same time.
Subordinate clauses
To indtroduce a dependent clause that indicates an action occurring during a period of time. To describe an action happening simultaneously with another action. To contrast two ongoing situations. I'm studying while listening to music.I do not record when I am on a show. The baby cried while his mother prepared dinner.
To introduce a single completed event that takes place in the middle of a longer activity or event. Depending on the context, when can mean ‘after’ or ‘at the same time’: When you download the .zip file, run your antivirus just in case. / when meaning ‘after’ I do not record when I am on a show. / when meaning ‘at the same time’
Subordinating conjunctions are often used in past continuous to add information or background events.
While
When
To introduce two events occurring simultaneously, we use 'after' with a simple or continuous verb form. The continuous form emphasizes an action that interrupts or happens during another action. As she walked to the door, she told everyone that the book became a bestseller. As they were signing the contract, they noticed that a page was missing.
As
General use
Even though While and As can be used to talk about two longer events or activities happening at the same time, the main emphasis changes according to what conjunction is chosen: We were eating dinner as they were playing Gears of War.As" tends to emphasize simultaneity more strongly. We spent days discussing the setlist while John played the same song over and over again."While" often suggests a contrast or separation between actions.
Comparison and Contrast
When and While can be used without a verb or a subject if we refer to the same main subject as the beginning of the sentence: Go past the cinema and you get to a mall. When there, just cross the street and you will get there. (formal) He read his book while listening to From Zero album. (while he was waiting)