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Meaning
Preposition: At, in, or throughout the time of; during the course of. (Examples: during the night, during the meeting)
Verb (Rare, archaic): To endure; to last for a period.
Correct Pronunciation & Stress
Preposition: /ˈdjʊə.ɹɪŋ/ or /ˈdʒʊəɹɪŋ/ (stress on first syllable). Common variations exist due to regional accents:
- (Standard) /ˈdjʊə.ɹɪŋ/ (UK English, showing /j/ sound)
- (Yod-coalescence) /ˈdʒʊəɹɪŋ/ (Common in US English, combining /j/ + /ʊ/)
- (Yod-dropping) /ˈd(j)ʊəɹɪŋ/ or /ˈd(j)ɜɹɪŋ/ (More formal or specific accents)
(Verb) Rhymes with ‘curing’ or ‘advising’, unstressed final syllable.
Basic Morphology
Derived from the Middle English present participle durynge, itself from duren (to last). Literally means “lasting” or “enduring”. Constructed from:
- dure (root: to last/endure) + -ing (forming the participle)
Often mispelled as dureing (archaic) or duringh in early texts.
Grammar Notes
Part of Speech: Primarily a preposition. Functions to indicate time.
- Used with a noun phrase: during the summer, during his absence.
- Always introduces the time period.
Verb Form: Very rare. Was the present participle/gerund of dure (“to last”) and appears in obsolete texts.
Interesting Facts
- Shares roots with “duration” and “endure” – all stem from the concept of lasting.
- Older spellings were highly variable: durynge, durinde, durand, durende.
- Shows significant dialectal pronunciation variation in English due to yod-coalescence/dropping.
Tips for Learning
- Visualize the word as “du-ring”: something that is happening obsessively, persistently throughout a period.
- Link it to “dure” (archaic/legendary) & “duration”: during implies something existing over time.
- Mnemonic: “DURING” sounds like “dure” + “ring”, like a bell ringing constantly during an event.
Examples
Simple: The store is closed during the holidays.
Medium: The project was completed successfully during the company’s annual retreat.
Complex: During the intense debate, the professor remained calm and provided insightful analysis on both sides.
Related Words
Synonyms: throughout, all through, in the course of, while (as a prep.), for the duration of.
Antonyms: before, after, until, outside of.
Common Word Combinations: during the day/night/week/month/year/winter/summer, during one’s lifetime, during the meeting/lecture/festival, during peak hours, during construction, during the 20th century.
Mini-Tasks
- Create a Sentence: Write a sentence using “during” to describe an event that happened last weekend.
- Find a Synonym: What word could replace “during” in: “We had a great time during our trip to Paris.”
- Grammar Check: Is “during” correctly used in: “The concert will be fantastic outside the stadium”? If not, why?
- Pronunciation: Look up the word “during” in a dictionary app. Does its pronunciation match /ˈdjʊə.ɹɪŋ/ or /ˈdʒʊəɹɪŋ/?