while we were watching TV. vs when we were watching TV.

Both phrases are correct, but they are used in different contexts. 'While we were watching TV' is used to indicate that two actions were happening simultaneously, while 'When we were watching TV' is used to indicate a specific time frame when an action occurred. The choice between the two depends on the intended meaning of the sentence.

Last updated: March 06, 2024

while we were watching TV.

This phrase is correct and commonly used in English to indicate simultaneous actions.

This phrase is used to show that two actions were happening at the same time. It implies a sense of simultaneity.

Show examples from the web [+]

Aug 7, 2015 ... Download Here: http://tinyurl.com/p2nyqkt FROM THE BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF TEN BEACH ROAD AND OCEAN BEACH, A NEW NOVEL ...
Sep 8, 2015 ... How I found my son drinking his sippy cup while we were watching TV (imgur. com). submitted 9 days ago by Svargas05 · 117 comments; share.
While we were watching TV, we heard a loud noise. When the fragment comes after the main part of the sentence, simply add it to the complete sentence that it ...
... a particular in-app commerical and a coupon will automatically pop up, as this one from Lowe's Home Improvement did while we were watching TV this week.

when we were watching TV.

This phrase is also correct and commonly used in English to indicate a specific time frame when an action occurred.

This phrase is used to specify a particular time frame during which an action took place. It indicates a temporal relationship between two events.

Show examples from the web [+]

May 12, 2015 ... ... afternoon when we were watching TV and our program was interrupted because a tornado had touched down and caused minor damage.
Before, when we were watching tv, my kids would flop down on the couch, zone out and watch whatever was on…didn't matter what it was. Drove me crazy!
Sep 15, 2014 ... ... getting every single question right, I commented, "how sad is it that we're so excited about remembering times when we were watching TV?".
Who was washing the dishes when we were watching TV? (Frage nach dem Subjekt). When were they watching the news? (Subjekt steht zwischen was/were ...

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while we were watching TV. vs when we were watching TV.