Examples of how to use the word “when” in a sentence. How to connect “when” with other words to make correct English sentences.
when (adv, pron, conj): at what time; at the time at which; what/which time;considering the fact that
Use “when” in a sentence
| She was shocked when she heard my story. |
| I need absolute silence when I’m working. |
| When I hear that song, I remember my younger days. |
| She was very surprised when she heard the news. |
| My throat hurts when I swallow. |
| Do you know when they will arrive? |
| The thief ran away when he saw a policeman. |
| I used to be very thin when I was young. |
| She still sucks her thumb when she’s worried. |
| I’m training her to take over my job when I retire. |
| Do you know when he will come? |
| When did you buy it? |
| When will we arrive?
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What’s the difference between the subordinate conjunctions when and while?
When & While: The Short Answer
In some sentences, you can use either without a great change in meaning. Generally, if you want to focus on an action that has a duration being in progress, use a while + a progressive tense.
While I was washing the dishes, my wife came home.* (Washing the dishes has a duration, e.g. 4 minutes.)
(*Note you can also use when here, but as a general rule, while is suitable.)
In other cases when you don’t need to emphasize that an action was in progress or the action is short and without a significant duration, use when and a simple tense.
When it started to rain, we went inside. (The action started is short; it is not something in progress).
When it started to rain, we went inside.
Here are some tips on the use of these two conjunctions.
Tip #1: Use a Progressive (Continuous) Tense with While to Show Focus
Progressive tenses use the BE verb + a verb in ~ing form.
While I was cooking dinner, the phone rang.
I will be sleeping at 11:00 p.m. tonight, so don’t phone me.
We use while to focus on an action happening at a specific time. Therefore, the most natural verb tense to use is a progressive tense, which shows that an action is in progress at a certain time.
It is common to use while with actions happening at a specific time (e.g. at 11 p.m.). Also, we use while to show that a shorter action (usually in the past simple, e.g. the phone rang) happened during as a longer action (usually in past progressive, e.g. I was cooking dinner). Often this shorter action interrupts the longer action.
A sensible rule is to use while with the progressive tenses and when with the simple tenses.
Tip #2: Use While with Actions that have a Limited Duration
- When I was a child, I played soccer. (Correct)
- While I was a child, I played soccer. (Not natural)
Why is #2 not natural? Well, when an action is too long (e.g. I was a child), we lose focus. The period of twelve years when you were a child is too long to use a progressive tense. We don’t use ‘while’ to talk about long periods of our lives. Instead, we use when and past simple. There’s another reason.
Tip #3: Use While with Action Verbs
Also, «While I was a child» is unnatural because the BE verb (was a child) is a state verb. State verbs are not action verbs (e.g. jump, kick, shower, drink). Instead, state verbs describe states or conditions (e.g. BE, live, understand, know, exist). We do not use progressive tenses with state verbs. As a result, we generally don’t use while with state verbs.
Compare:
While she was driving, I played with the radio. (Natural)
This is correct. Driving is an action verb and the action is limited in duration. In other words, driving is a short activity that has a clear start and end.
While When I lived in my hometown, my mother made me dinner. (While is not natural)
Live is a state verb, and also, the action of living in my hometown probably had a duration of 18 years. This is too long to focus on.
Exception: Focusing on a Verb in Progress
You could use while with a state verb like ‘live’ if you really want to focus on the fact that an action was in progress at a specific time. For example:
While I was living in India, there was a big earthquake.
Although it would probably be more common to use When I lived in India, this sentence is correct. The speaker chooses to use ‘While’ + present progressive’ to focus on an action being in progress (living) when another action happened.
Remember: While Means an Action Had a Start and an End (a Duration)
If a sentence uses while, it suggests that the action happened over a period of time. Here’s are two better examples to show what I mean:
When the phone rang, I was making lunch.
The longer action (making lunch) was happening when a shorter action happened (phone rang).
Key question: How many times did the phone ring? Because we’re using when, we don’t know. The use of when doesn’t suggest it was an ongoing action. The phone may have rang once and stopped.
While the phone was ringing, I was making lunch.
How many times did the phone ring here? More than once. Because we are using While + present progressive, we are focusing on duration. This means that the action (ring) happened over a period of time that had a start and end. When we say ‘the phone was ringing’ in the progressive, we are saying that this happened for some time. (Thanks to Clive at Englishforums for this point.)
While vs. When: In Conclusion
We can conclude the following:
- To emphasize (focus) that an action was in progress at a specific time, use while + a progressive tense ( = While I was eating, …)
- Otherwise, use when + a simple tense. (= When I ate, …)
- 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)
- 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)
I hope these ideas have been useful. Remember, these are general tips (not fixed rules). There will be exceptions depending on what the speaker wants to emphasize. If you have any questions or comments, please leave them below.
— Matthew Barton / Creator of Englishcurrent.com
When is a wh-word. We use when to ask questions, as a conjunction and to introduce relative clauses.
When as a question word
We can use when to ask for information about what time something happens:
When did you leave?
When are you going on holiday?
When will you know the result of the exam?
We can use when in indirect questions:
She asked me when I would be ready to start the job.
I wonder when the new computers will arrive.
When as a conjunction
We use when as a conjunction meaning ‘at the time that’. The clause with when is a subordinate clause (sc) and needs a main clause (mc) to complete its meaning. If the when-clause comes before the main clause, we use a comma.
Talking about the past
[SC]When I was young, [MC]there were no houses here.
[MC]Nobody spoke [SC]when she came into the room.
Talking about the present
When you start the engine, there’s a strange noise.
Talking about the future
In references to the future with when, we use the present simple or the present perfect in the when-clause, not the future with shall and will:
When the new park opens, I’ll go there every day.
Not: When the new park will open, I’ll go there every day.
When I’ve finished my homework, I’m going to phone Marita.
Not: When I’ll finish my homework, I’m going to phone Marita.
We can use when as a conjunction to mean ‘considering that’:
What’s the point in going out when we have to be home by eleven o’clock?
When as a relative pronoun
We can use when as a relative pronoun in relative clauses:
That was the week when we booked our holiday.
The parcel arrived in the post at 11 am, when I was still at work.
Since when?
We can use since when to ask at what time something began. We often use it as a response when we are surprised that something has begun:
A:
Hilary’s working at the Art Museum now.
A:
Oh, she’s been there about three months.
Warning:
Using Since when at the start of a question can express anger or sarcasm:
[talking about children watching television]
A:
Maybe you should try not to let them watch so much television.
B:
Since when are you an expert on childcare? (This is very direct.)
When or if?
We use when to refer to a future situation or condition that we are certain of, whereas we use if to introduce a possible or unreal situation.
Compare
|
I will definitely see Gary. |
|
I may see Gary but I am not certain. |
When or since?
We use when to mean ‘(at) the time that’. We use since to refer to a particular time in the past until another time or until now:
I had a great time when I went to the coast.
I have been having a boring time since I came back home.
Not: I have been having a boring time when I came back home.
When: typical errors
-
Be careful not to use when instead of if:
If you arrive too late, you are not allowed to take the examination because they don’t accept late enrolment.
Not: When you arrive too late, …
-
Be careful not to use when instead of since:
I was very surprised to see him because it’s been a long time since I last saw him.
Not: … it’s been a long time when I last saw him.
-
We don’t use will after when to mean ‘at that time’:
When I start college, I’ll miss my old school friends.
Not: When I’ll start college, I’ll miss my old school friends.
Complete the sentences with the word
combinations.
Example: What is
he going to do? He is going to…..- He
is going to read a newspaper.
1. When the friends meet, they————————- . — ————— 2. When will you———————————————————— ? — On Christmas Eve. We bought new
colourful balls yesterday.
3. Do you___________ ? — Yes, I like running and riding my bike.
4. In December people_________ _____________to their friends to congratulate with New
Year and Christmas.
Sentences can be made up of many words and phrases. It’s also possible to make a sentence with only one word. Even better than that, it’s possible to use only a handful of letters to create the shortest complete sentences. This article will explore a selection of them.
The preferred shortest sentences include “I,” “no,” and “go!” There are so many great options out there, but these are amongst the shortest ones that you’re most likely going to come across. The options are endless once you understand the fundamentals.
I.
Officially, “I” is the shortest complete sentence. You can use it as a subjective response when someone asks a question like, “who did it?” Replying with “I” is a short form of saying “it was I.”
- Who is there?
- I.
- Who did it?
- I.
No.
If you want to reject the previous statement or question, “No” is a great two-word sentence. It’s simple and efficient.
- Do you want to go with me?
- No.
- Will you be there?
- No.
Go!
“Go” is the first verb form you can use to create a simple sentence. The subject is implied when “go” is used like this (i.e. it implies “you go”). However, “go” is one of the only two-letter verbs that this works for.
- What should I do now?
- Go! Don’t wait around.
- Are you ready to race?
- Go!
Oh.
“Oh” is an exclamation. Most people use it when they don’t know what else to say. It’s a simple two-letter phrase that shows you are surprised.
- I’m not going to be there with you.
- Oh.
- I’m sorry.
- Oh.
Hm.
“Hm” is a thoughtful sentence. You should use these two letters when you are thinking about an answer that might be suitable to the question.
- You’re going to think about this, right?
- Hm.
- I don’t know what to do. Do you have any ideas?
- Hm.
Hi.
“Hi” is a very common two-letter sentence. It is a greeting, and native speakers use it to informally say “hello” to their peers.
- Hi!
- Hi! How are you?
- Hello, there!
- Hi.
Me.
“Me” is similar to using “I.” Technically, it’s not correct to use because it is the object form, but the idea is to replace “I” with “me” when answering a question. For example, “who did it?” can be answered with “me” (implying “it was me”).
- Who’s there?
- Me.
- Who else can be on this team?
- Me.
You.
“You” moves up to three letters. We’ve run out of two-letter sentences, but there are so many three-letter ones. “You” is another subjective pronoun that can work to answer specific questions like “who did it?”
- Who is going to get this done?
- You.
- Who will be there for you?
- You.
Yes.
“Yes” is the opposite of “no.” It’s an affirmative response that agrees with a statement or shows that you are willing to do something.
- Will you be there?
- Yes.
- Can you come with me?
- Yes.
Why?
“Why?” is a good example of a complete sentence that becomes a question. You should use this when you want to know what made someone do something.
- I did that.
- Why?
- I thought you’d like it.
- Why?
Him.
“Him” allows you to use an objective pronoun to highlight who might have done something. “Him” refers to a man, allowing you to point him out if he relates to the question.
- Do you know who did it?
- Him.
- Which one of these people was there?
- Him.
Her.
“Her” is another objective pronoun that works. Like “me,” it’s probably better to use “she” as the subject, but informal English allows you to use object pronouns as long as they’re in one-word sentences.
- Which one of them was it?
- Her.
- Who did it?
- Her.
Hey.
“Hey” is another example of an informal greeting that replaces “hello.” It allows you to greet your friends and peers. It’s three letters long, which is still a remarkably short sentence.
- Hi!
- Hey.
- Hello, friend.
- Hey.
I Am.
“I am” is the first example of two words making up a short sentence. While two words are used, only three letters are present. Here, you can include the subject (only “I” will work to keep it three letters) and the verb (as long as it’s two letters long).
- Are you going to be there later today?
- I am.
- Are you the one in charge of these findings?
- I am.
I Do.
“I do” is another great example of two words making up a short completed sentence. You can use “do” to show that you are going to do something. Again, “I” has to be used as it’s only one letter. The verb can only be two letters to keep the sentence short.
- Do you take this man to be your husband?
- I do.
- Do you have what it takes?
- I do.
Sit.
“Sit” is a three-letter verb form that works as a sentence. Just like “go,” the subject is implied through the context. It can mean something like “you sit” or “he should sit,” depending on the context.
- What should I do now?
- Sit.
- Do you want me to hang around?
- Sit.
Run.
“Run” is another good verb choice made of only three letters. There are plenty of others out there, but we won’t overwhelm you. All verbs work in the same way here, where the subject is always implied. They work as imperative forms (orders or commands).
- What do you want me to do now?
- Run!
- What is that noise?
- Run!
One.
Numbers are also suitable as short sentences when they are spelled out. One of the shortest numbers is “one,” which is only made up of three letters.
- How many of you are going?
- One.
- How many years have you done this?
- One.
Two.
“Two” is twice as much as one, but it is made up of the same number of letters. You can use it to answer questions that ask for a quantity.
- How many of them are left?
- Two.
- How many people can this accommodate?
- Two.
Ten.
“Ten” is the largest number you can include in a three-letter sentence. It’s possible to use this in the same way as the other numbers, where “ten” is the quantity.
- How many can come today?
- Ten.
- How many are in stock?
- Ten.
Martin holds a Master’s degree in Finance and International Business. He has six years of experience in professional communication with clients, executives, and colleagues. Furthermore, he has teaching experience from Aarhus University. Martin has been featured as an expert in communication and teaching on Forbes and Shopify. Read more about Martin here.