(During/while/before/after)
The four words in our title are all Prepositions. They all talk about time, but of course each of them has a different meaning.
During is a preposition which is used before a noun (during+noun) to say when something happens.
"Nobody spoke during the presentation."
"He was asleep during the lesson."
We use while to talk about two things that are happening at the same time (the length of time is not important.) Remember that while is used with a subject and a verb (while+subject+verb)
"The phone rang while I was watching TV."
"I met him while we were studying in the library."
For is preposition which is used with a period to say how long something goes on. "Muhammad has been sleeping for 8 hours."
"We waited for 30 minutes outside your house."
NOTE:
Before: Earlier than a particular time,event or action
"I went for a run before breakfast"
After: When a particular time has passed, or when an event or action has ended. "This message arrived after everyone had gone home."
Remember!:
We use before and after to talk about the order of events in the past or future.
*My brother makes it a rule to look over the newspaper before going to his office.
*He arrived after I had left.
And we use while to talk about things that are happening at the same time.
*they were talking while the teacher was explaining the activity
And for during: from beginning to the end of particular period
*they work during the night and sleep by day
For is a preposition which is used with a period to say how long something goes on
*We waited for 30 minutes outside your house.