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can also be legitimately used in the contrastive sense, comparable to the words "although" or "whereas", provided that it is not ambiguous (although some commentators, such as
743:
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The latter sentence can mean either "during the time that Sally plays, Sue works" or "although Sally plays, Sue works" and is thus ambiguous.
58:
of the topic and provide significant coverage of it beyond a mere trivial mention. If notability cannot be shown, the article is likely to be
701:
519:
488:
281:
293:: "and" or "but" should be used instead. Its usage as "elegant variation" is also discouraged, as it is masquerading as a "formal word".
351:
is chiefly
British. For example, the BBC World Service website "Learning English", in their "Ask about English" section, uses the word
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129:
583:
within sentences to contrast two ideas, across sentences we would need to use 'however' or 'on the other hand'."(italics added).
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runs the risk of sounding pretentious, it can sometimes add a literary or ironically formal note to a piece of writing".
51:
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in their style guides (along with other words ending in "st"; "amidst", "amongst", "unbeknownst", etc.); for example:
173:, a form often considered archaic in American English, as well as in some style guides on both sides of the Atlantic.
159:. Its meaning varies largely based on its intended function, position in the phrase and even the writer or speaker's
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is translated into standard
English as "until"; for example, "At least wait while we're done."
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is also used as a noun (as in "rest for a while") or a verb (as in "while away the hours").
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434:), a reference book for intermediate and advanced learners of English, does not include
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The primary function of the word as a conjunction is to indicate that two separate
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Please help to demonstrate the notability of the topic by citing
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is only a conjunction, and so its use here would be incorrect.
544:(3rd ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. 943.
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Some publications on both sides of the
Atlantic disapprove of
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688:
The
American Heritage guide to contemporary usage and style
232:
Both of these sentences yield the same effective meaning.
366:
is considered to be pretentious, archaic, and obsolete.
608:. 4th ed. 2000. Allyn & Bacon, Boston. Pg. 63-64.
205:
means "an amount of time" or "some duration" whereas
355:when explaining the usage of "while and whereas".
533:
531:
500:. Ed. Robert Allen. Oxford University Press, 1999
438:but has several sections covering the usage of
285:disapproves of several uses of the conjunctive
252:"The days were hot while we were on vacation."
8:
270:"While I like cats, my husband is allergic."
289:. At times it is inappropriately used as a
402:Hansard: the Canadian Parliament record: "
673:Hansard Association of Canada Style Guide
457:List of English words with disputed usage
130:Learn how and when to remove this message
744:American and British English differences
255:"I read a magazine while I was waiting."
193:are often confused due to the fact that
586:"BBC World Service: 'Learning English'"
468:
320:, as a conjunction, is synonymous with
719:
709:
296:In some dialects of Northern England,
692:. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. p.
7:
498:Pocket Fowler's Modern English Usage
225:"I slept for a while before dinner."
684:Company, Houghton Mifflin (2005).
541:Garner's Dictionary of Legal Usage
16:Noun and subordinating conjunction
14:
266:, have disapproved of such use):
32:
273:"While Sally plays, Sue works."
228:"I slept awhile before dinner."
43:may not meet Knowledge (XXG)'s
201:. The main difference is that
1:
514:. Smith Settle. p. 142.
489:Fowler's Modern English Usage
282:Fowler's Modern English Usage
604:Strunk, W., and White, E.B.
45:general notability guideline
388:Times Online Style Guide: "
770:
619:"BBC News Style Guide - W"
492:, Second Edition, ed. Sir
414:writes that, "while using
163:. As a conjunction, it is
52:reliable secondary sources
41:The topic of this article
20:
538:Garner, Bryan A. (2011).
217:some amount of time" or "
157:subordinating conjunction
151:that functions both as a
640:. London. Archived from
510:Kellett, Arnold (1991).
291:coordinating conjunction
248:occur at the same time.
197:is often accompanied by
452:Linguistic prescription
423:Practical English Usage
412:American Heritage Guide
395:Guardian Style Guide: "
656:"Guardian Style Guide"
634:"Online Style Guide W"
199:the indefinite article
23:While (disambiguation)
662:. London. 2014-01-26.
606:The Elements of Style
512:Basic broad Yorkshire
21:For other uses, see
496:1965 and 1983, and
722:has generic name (
644:on March 31, 2007.
314:Australian English
47:
703:978-0-618-60499-9
521:978-1-870071-82-6
476:A While vs Awhile
147:is a word in the
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221:some duration".
161:regional dialect
149:English language
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264:Eric Partridge
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167:with the word
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551:9780195384208
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494:Ernest Gowers
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392:(not whilst)"
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347:The usage of
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81: –
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75:Find sources:
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19:
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660:The Guardian
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642:the original
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589:. Retrieved
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555:. Retrieved
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428:Michael Swan
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720:|last=
571:"Note that
406:not whilst"
399:not whilst"
377:BBC News: "
240:Conjunction
56:independent
738:Categories
591:2012-04-19
463:References
165:synonymous
90:newspapers
64:redirected
712:cite book
638:The Times
486:"while":
385:'whilst'"
336:. Unlike
213:meaning "
155:and as a
120:June 2021
54:that are
446:See also
322:although
581:whereas
326:whereas
246:clauses
203:a while
187:A while
104:scholar
79:"While"
68:deleted
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436:whilst
416:whilst
371:whilst
364:whilst
353:whilst
349:whilst
338:whilst
318:whilst
234:Whilst
211:adverb
209:is an
207:awhile
191:awhile
170:whilst
106:
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60:merged
577:while
440:while
404:while
397:while
390:while
379:while
342:while
334:while
304:Usage
298:while
287:while
260:While
195:while
177:Usage
144:While
111:JSTOR
97:books
66:, or
724:help
698:ISBN
559:2023
546:ISBN
516:ISBN
410:The
381:and
312:and
189:and
182:Noun
153:noun
83:news
694:503
579:or
432:OUP
426:by
383:not
358:In
332:or
330:but
219:for
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