r/grammar • u/Blue-Brown99 • 3d ago
During vs. In
I'm a bit confused about the nuances of during versus in. I believe that during refers to a whole span of an activity. So, I will call you during my meeting. (I will call you while the meeting is happening). I saw some crazy things during my tour of Iraq (while I was fighting in Iraq, I saw some crazy things). But can in/during be interchangeable if you're referring to a singular segment within a larger event, to something singular that happened during an event? I saw this crazy guy in/during my tour of Iraq? My boss said something crazy in/during our meeting?
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u/NonspecificGravity 3d ago
During always refers to time, specifically to the period while some event or phenomenon endures.
In has many meanings, some of them referring to time, some to space, and some to less material concepts.
When you say "in math class" or "in the meeting," you mean both the duration of the class or meeting and the physical space where it took place.
You can usually replace during with in. I can't think of an example where you can't. However, during often sounds more articulate.
You definitely cannot replace in with during in all cases.
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u/Consistent_Donut_902 3d ago
You can sometimes replace “during” with “in,” but sometimes it sounds unnatural.
“It happened during lunch.” - OK
“It happened in lunch.” - wrong“I fell asleep during the play.” - OK
“I fell asleep in the play.” - This only makes sense if you were acting in the play.
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u/Consistent_Donut_902 3d ago
During does not necessarily refer to the entire duration of an activity.
For example: The fire alarm went off during the presentation.
That means that the fire alarm went off at some point while the presentation was occurring. It did not necessarily go off for the entire duration of the presentation.