Mr. Maru: I'm excited about our trip to Iowa.

Sparky: Me too. In the meanwhile, we need to find a hotel.

Mr. Maru: You mean 'in the meantime' we need to find a hotel.

Sparky: Ah, yes. That's it! I'm hungry. I'll eat lunch meanwhile finding a hotel.

Mr. Maru: Mmm, while find a hotel. You need 'while.'

Sparky: Right! That's what I mean.

Mr. Maru: Please just eat lunch. Meanwhile, I'll find a hotel.

Sparky: Excellent plan. Ahh, I'm looking forward to watching cows meanwhile the sun goes down in Iowa.

Mr. Maru: Right Sparky. Just eat.

What is the difference between 'meanwhile' and 'meantime'? How do you use 'while'? These words have similar meanings but have different uses. They can be very useful. We can use them to connect sentences. Let's talk about some examples.

'Meanwhile' definition and use

The word 'meanwhile' is an adverb. It means 'at the same time'. It is usually used at the beginning of the sentence and has a comma after it. For example,

I walked to school. Meanwhile, it started raining. (It was raining while I walked to school.)
Jack worked all day. Meanwhile, his friends were relaxing. (Jacked worked, but his friends didn't at the same time.)

'Meantime' definition and use

The word 'meantime' is a noun. It is actually the noun of the adverb 'meanwhile'. Since it's a noun we will use it differently. It is usually used in a phrase like 'in the meantime' or 'for the meantime'. For example,

I started cooking dinner. In the meantime, the guests arrived at the party. (I was cooking dinner while guests arrived at the party.)
We don't have money to fix the shower. You will have to take a bath for the meantime. (While the shower is broken, you will have to take a bath.)

What is the difference between 'meanwhile' and 'meantime'?

The main difference is that 'meanwhile' is an adverb and 'meantime' is a noun. The meaning of the words are the same. Some people will use 'meanwhile' as a noun but this is not common. If you want to be correct, always use 'meantime' in a phrase like 'for the meantime' or 'in the meantime'. You can use 'meanwhile' by itself.

What is the difference between 'while' and 'meanwhile'?

The word 'while' is very similar to 'meanwhile' but it is usually a conjunction. We use it to combine two sentences. We usually put an ~ing word after while. For example,

He ate dinner while watching TV. (He ate dinner and at the same time he watched TV.)
Sparky exercised while listening to pop music. (Sparky exercised and listened to pop music at the same time.)

Review Quiz

1) Jenny studied for her test. _________, I cleaned the bathroom.

A) Meantime,

B) Meanwhile,

C) While,

2) The trains are stopped because of an accident. In the ______, you can take the bus.

A) meantime

B) meanwhile

C) while

3) I wrote my report _____ eating dinner.

A) meantime

B) meanwhile

C) while

Answers

1. B) - We can use 'meanwhile' by itself. 'Meantime' is usually not used by itself.

2. A) - We can use 'meantime' in a phrase to mean 'at the same time'.

3. C) - We need 'while' to connect the two parts of the sentence.

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