VOA慢速：“When”和“While”的区别
欢迎来到今天的VOA慢速专区。
今天为大家带来一篇关于英语学习的文章。
Tony from China writes,
来自中国的托尼写道，
Hi! I am an English learner from China.
你好！我是一名来自中国的英语学习者。
I want to know the difference between when and while. Thanks!
我想知道“when”和“while”有什么区别。谢谢！
Dear Tony,
亲爱的托尼，
This is a very interesting question,
这是一个非常有趣的问题，
because both words are what grammar experts call "subordinating conjunctions".
因为这两个单词都是语法专家所说的“从属连词”。
That means we use them to connect subordinating clauses to the main clause of a sentence.
那是指我们用它们将一个句子的从句和主句连起来。
A subordinating clause is a part of a sentence that adds additional information to the main clause.
从句是句子中为主句添加附加信息的部分。
Here is an example:
下面是一个例子：
I read Tony's email when I started work today.
今天开始工作的时候我阅读了托尼发来的电子邮件。
The main clause is "I read Tony's email".
主句是“我阅读了托尼发来的电子邮件”。
The additional information is "when I started work today".
附加信息是“今天我开始工作的时候”。
The subordinating conjunction "when" tells us that
从属连词“when”告诉我们，
the time of the second event was almost at the same time or very close to the time of the first event.
第二个事件发生的时间几乎与第一个事件发生的时间相同或非常接近。
Note that both these actions – "start" and "read" are single actions, using verbs in the simple past tense.
注意这两个动作——“start”和“read”都是短暂性动作，动词用的都是一般过去时。
That is an important thing to remember as we look for the difference between "when" and "while".
当我们在寻找“when”和“while”之间的区别时，记住这一点很重要。
Now, look at this example:
现在，看看这个例子：
While I was making lunch, the phone rang.
我正在做午饭时，电话响了。
Here, the first action is in the present continuous tense.
这里，第一个动作是现在进行时。
That means the action, making lunch, took place over a period of time.
这意味着做午饭这一动作，发生在一段时间内。
The main clause, "the phone rang" is in the simple past tense,
主句“电话响了”是一般过去时，
and it is a single action taking place at a point in time.
它是在某个时间点发生的短暂性动作。
The order of the events in a sentence with subordinating conjunctions can affect the choice of "when" or "while".
在带有从属连词的句子中，事件的顺序会影响对“when”还是“while”的选择。
If we change the order of our example above, we get:
如果我们改变上面例子中的顺序，我们会得到：
When the phone rang, I was making lunch.
电话响时，我正在做午饭。
Here, the conjunction "when" is in the clause with the single action, "the phone rang".
在这里，连词“when”在从句中连接的是短暂性动作：“电话响了”。
So as a general rule, you should use "while" in a clause with a continuous action,
所以作为一般规则，你应该在有延续性动作的从句中使用“while”，
using a verb in a continuous tense.
动词用的是进行时。
Use "when" in a clause with a single action,
在只有一个短暂性动作的从句中使用“when”，
using a simple past or present tense.
动词用的是一般过去时或一般现在时。
If you have a question for our staff of teachers, send it by email to learningenglish@voanews.com.
如果你有问题要问我们的老师，那就发送电子邮件到learningenglish@voanews.com吧。
And that's Ask a Teacher!
以上就是本周《名师答疑》的全部内容！
I'm Jill Robbins.
吉尔·罗宾斯为您播报。
这里是 美国之音 频道
Go to "Discover" > "Top Stories" > "Wow"