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A While vs. Awhile

Express a period of time or something that occurs briefly

A while vs. Awhile

*not used, incorrect / ~commonly used, not preferred but not incorrect

The prefix a- originates historically from the preposition on but now includes meanings of to, in, into, on, for.  The prefix occurs mostly with spatial words, for example, around, about, abroad, aboard, aside. (Huddleston 514-5) 

awhile is a fused word: a- (preposition) + while (noun). It is like other prepositions in that it modifies the verb; however, it is unlike other prepositions in that it does not accept a complement, an "object noun" (it already includes a noun), and it does not accept a modifier such as "straight", "right" or "exactly". See Preposition Properties.

¹ The words awhile and a while can be confusing because they sound the same; they differ slightly in meaning and in their use. Some grammarians express a slight preference for a while:

"I'll stay for a while is acceptable,  I'll stay for awhile is not. (Note that if the preposition is dropped, both I'll stay a while and I'll stay awhile are acceptable, since the noun phrase a while can be used adverbially."  (American Heritage Dictionary Online) 

Garner also points out that a while commonly occurs in use as an adverbial (Garner 81) 

"The tendency towards writing the expression as one word in all circumstances is being assisted by the fact that in may contexts awhile could easily be replaced by for a while without loss of sense of rhythm…"  (Burchfield and Fowler 83)

Other sources (AP 365) (Gregg 83) (Robinson 31). See Works Cited below.

Also see related pages Temporal (Time) Expressions and Temporal Prepositions that Include Nouns.

 

 

 

 

 

While

Additional Meanings

While

VARIANT MEANING	EXAMPLES
WHILE (N)  a period of time	We'll leave in a while.  We haven't seen him for a while. (a period of time)
WHILE (P) although	While never a big talker, he did gossip a lot.  (connective preposition, concession)
WHILE (P) related to the same time period	I was answering my email while he was talking to his friend. (connective preposition, time related)
ALL THE WHILE (NP) throughout the period of time	We kept calling them but heard a "busy" signal. All the while we were calling them, they were calling us.
WORTH ONE'S WHILE (EXPR.) a good use of time	— I'm trying to count all these jelly beans. — Are you sure that is worth your while.

while is often confused with wile (1) a trick, an enticement [N]; She used her wiles to intrigue him; (2) beguile, entice, trick [V]  Video games wiled him away from his studies;  (3) wile away (expression) waste or spend time; He wiles away the day playing video games.  The cartoon character Wile E. Coyote in the Roadrunner is well-known and loved.

 

Word Categories: N – Noun; V – Verb; Aux – Auxiliary; Adj – Adjective; Adv – Adverb; P –Preposition; Det –Determiner.

Phrasal Categories: NP – Noun Phrase; VP – Verb Phrase; AdjP – Adjective Phrase; AdvP – Adverb Phrase; PP – Prepositional Phrase; DP – Determinative Phrase.

 

 

 

 

Awhile

One Meaning

 

Awhile

VARIANT MEANING	EXAMPLES
AWHILE  (P) briefly, temporarily, for a short time	We stayed awhile.  (adverbial, preposition)
—	—

  "a while used adverbially for awhile" on Garner's Language Change Index: Stage 3 (of 5)

 

 

 

Common Mistakes

Errors and Solutions

 

Error and Solution

*Yellow highlighting indicates example of incorrect usage.
Pop-Q Awhile

 

• American Heritage Dictionary of the American Language,Fifth Ed. Houghton Mifflin. 2012. ahdictionary.com.
• Burchfield, R. W. and H. W. Fowler. Fowler's Modern English Usage. revised 3rd ed., Oxford UP, 2004.
• Huddleston, Rodney D., and Geoffrey K. Pullum. The Cambridge Grammar of the English Language. Cambridge UP, 2002.
• Garner's Modern American Usage. by Bryan A. Garner, 3rd ed., Oxford UP, 2009.
• Gregg Reference Manual. Edited by William A. Sabin, 11th ed., McGraw-Hill Education, 2011.
• Robinson, Diane Mae. The Dragon Grammar Book: Grammar for Kids, Dragons, and the Whole Kingdom. Diane Mae Robinson Ink [sic]. Dec 2017.

IMAGE

Taxi cabs stopped in traffic. Pixabay, 21 July 2013. Licensed by CC0. Accessed 2 Mar. 2019.

"Orangestad –Tourist Market". By Roger W, Flickr, 15 Jan 2014. Licensed by CC BY-SA 2.0. Accessed 5 Mar. 2019.