The Italian words mentre and durante at the beginning can cause some confusion in some learners because both are used to express time. However, there’s a small difference between the two. Today you’re gonna learn how to use mentre and durante once for all.
Mentre
The Italian word mentre can indicate a contrast. So, the sentence that comes after the word mentre is in contrast with what you said earlier or emphasizes the difference between two situations.
Examples:
a. Le persone diventano sempre più povere, mentre le tasse aumentano sempre di più
People are getting poorer, while taxes rise more and more
b. Giulio è a casa a far niente, mentre io lavoro tutto il giorno
Giulio is at home doing nothing, while I work all day
c. Elisa è molto estroversa, mentre Paola è timidissima
Elisa is very outgoing, while Paola is very shy
When mentre is used with this meaning, it can generally be replaced with the Italian word invece.
Mentre can be used to indicate time. In this case, it can have two uses.
1. It can indicate that an action takes place at the same time as something else is happening. In short, the two actions are happening at the same time and last for the same time.
When mentre carries this meaning, the verbs in the sentence can be used in the present tense, imperfect, and in the future.
Examples:
d. Chiama sempre mentre mangiamo
S/He always calls while we’re eating
e. Mentre tu facevi la doccia, io leggevo un libro
While you were taking a shower, I was reading a book
f. Mentre guarderai la tv, io metterò in ordine la casa
While you’re watching tv, I will tidy up the house
2. It can indicate that an action takes place during the time that something is happening. In this case, an action sort of gets in the middle of the other. The tenses to be used in Italian, in this case, are imperfect, or past continuous, and passato prossimo.
Examples:
g. Ho risposto al telefono mentre guidavo/stavo guidando
I answered the phone while I was driving
h. Elisa si è fatta male mentre giocava/stava giocando a tennis
Elisa got hurt while she was playing tennis
i. L’ho incontrato mentre ero all’università
I met him while I was at university
So, in example g, I was driving when suddenly my phone rang and I picked it up to answer. In example h, Elisa was playing tennis, when suddenly she got hurt. Finally, in example i, I was at university, when suddenly I met him.
As you can see the actions at the passato prossimo get in the way of the actions expressed with the imperfect.
Durante
The Italian word durante can be used to indicate time as well and it can have two meanings:
1. It can mean at some point in a period of time
Examples:
l. Durante la riunione alcune persone si sono lamentate
During the meeting, some people complained
m. Mio nonno è rimasto ferito durante la guerra
My grandfather was injured during the war
n. Durante la gita una bambina si è persa
During the trip a little girl got lost
2. It can mean from the beginning to the end of a period of time. In this case it’s a synonym of “nel corso di”.
Examples:
o. Durante l’estate ho lavorato come cameriera
During the summer, I worked as a waitress
p. Durante la tempesta siamo rimasti in casa
We stayed indoors during the storm
q. Durante il pranzo abbiamo guardato la tv
During lunch, we watched tv
So, what’s the difference between mentre and durante?
The main difference is that mentre is a conjunction while durante is a preposition. What does this mean?
It means that durante is followed by a noun. Mentre, by contrast, is used to connect two clauses together, so it’s always followed by a clause.
Examples:
r. Mentre tu facevi la doccia, io leggevo un libro
While you were taking a shower, I was reading a book
s. Durante la tempesta siamo rimasti in casa
We stayed indoors during the storm
As you can see in example r mentre is followed by a clause – tu facevi la doccia” and it’s used to connect two clauses together – tu facevi la doccia + mentre + io leggevo un libro.
If we have a look at example s, instead, the word durante is not used to connect two clauses together and it’s followed by a noun – la tempesta.
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Credits
Original image by anncapictures
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