USOS DE WHEN Y WHILE, Apuntes de Inglés

1. To emphasize (focus) that an action was in progress at a specific time,

usewhile + a progressive tense( =While I was eating, …)

2. Otherwise, usewhen + a simple tense. (=When I ate, …)

3. Verbs withwhilehave a duration. The period of the verb cannot be too long or

we lose focus. (=While I was a child=When I was a child)

4. Progressive tenses useaction verbs, so usewhilewith an action verb (While

I was dancing) and not a state verb (While I was hungry)

So as a general rule, you should use “while” in a clause with