2021-05-16
ศัพท์ น่าสับสน ชุด – A – a while & awhile
แนะนำการใช้ ตามที่ส่วนใหญ่ใช้ แต่ละท้องถิ่น
ความหมาย อาจผันแปร ตาม ตำแหน่ง/หน้าที่ ในประโยค
Dictionary.com
ออกเสียง while = ‘HWAHYL’ or ‘WAHYL’
ออกเสียง awhile = ‘uh-HWAHYL’ or ‘uh-WAHYL’
Dictionary.com
USAGENOTE FOR AWHILE
The adverb awhile is spelled as a single word:
After stopping in Hadley awhile, we drove to Deerfield.
Asthe object of a preposition, the noun phrase a while isused,
especially in edited writing,
butthe single-word form is becoming increasingly common:
We rested for a while (or awhile ).
Dictionary.com
What’sThe Difference Between “A While” And “Awhile”
What is the differencebetween a while and awhile?
Few wordpairs capture the idiosyncrasies (“peculiarcharacteristics”)
of the English language like a while and awhile do.
Both of these terms are expressions of time,
but oneis written with a space while the other is one word.
In fact, these two terms represent different parts of speech.
The two-word expression a while is a noun phrase,
consisting of the article a and the noun while
(which means “a period or interval of time”).
The one-word awhile isan adverb that means
“for a short time or period.”
Althoughthese definitions are similar
(and although the terms can sometimes be used interchangeably),
there area few simple rules that can help you keep them straight.
How do you use a while and awhile correctly?
The nounphrase a while can (and often does) follow a preposition,
such as: for or in.
Here’s an example: He said he would be home in a while.
The adverb awhile cannotfollow a preposition.
This is a rulethat makes sense
ifyou revisit the definition of the term (“for a short time or period”)
and drop it into a sentence:
He said he would be home in for a short time or period.
However, if we get rid of the preposition
and rewrite it
as: He said he would be home awhile,
the sentence works with a slightly altered meaning
(he will be home fora short time
instead of he will be home in a period of time).
How do you use while onits own?
The base word in both of these expressions,
while, is most commonly a conjunction,
meaning “during,” “although,” or “throughout the time that.”
Here’s an example:
She ate the cookie dough while he greased the baking sheet.
While can also be a verb meaning
“to cause (time) to pass, especially in some easy or pleasant manner.”
Example:
She whiled away the hours ruminating on the differences between awhile and a while.
Merriam-Webster Dictionary
Can awhile beused after a preposition?: Usage Guide
Although considered a solecism by many commentators,
awhile,like several other adverbs of time and place,
is oftenused as the object of a preposition.
… would be generous enough to let me explore their world for awhile.
— David Yeadon
Merriam-Webster Dictionary
Usage Notes
'Awhile'vs. 'A While'
There are rules, but who's listening?
What to Know
Awhile is an adverb that means "for a while,"
whereas "while" is a noun meaning "a period of time."
Generally,
you should usethe two word form, "a while,"
when followinga preposition (I will read for a while),
orwith the words ago or back (a while ago/back).
The singular word"awhile" should be used to modify a verb
(I will wait awhile) and can usually replace any usage of "for a while."
The word awhile isan adverb meaning "for a while."
The two-wordexpression a while is the article a plusthe noun while,
which means"a period of time" (as in: "stay here for a while")
or"the time and effort used" (as in: "worth your while").
Loose Rules for Awhile vs A While
Mostgrammarians feel that
awhile shouldonly be used to modify a verb
and a while should be used after prepositions
or inphrases like a while ago or a while back.
Perhaps having to wait awhile isn't an entirely bad thing.
—Liza Mundy, The Atlantic, June 2015
She was having computer trouble,
she told him, and would be offline for a while.
—Mark Warren, Esquire, April 2015
At a luncheon I attended recently,
a speaker shared with the audience something I had said a while ago.
—Constance C. R. White, Essence, November 2012
Living deep in the Pennsylvania woods a while back,
I became familiar with the trees that shaded my house
and provided fuel for the stove….
—Laurence A. Marschall, Natural History, May 2015
Broken Rules
The rulesgoverning
usage of the adverb and phrase are frequently broken, however.
In fact, some people who observe language patterns
note that the usage of awhile after a preposition
or withwords like ago or back isbecoming so common
that it may eventually become standard.
Consider these examples.
When the touch-me-not plant is touched, its leaves fold up.
Its stem droops.
After awhile, the plant goes back to normal.
—Gary Miller, National Geographic Explorer, March 2012
He said Miller was down on his luck
and that he wanted to help him out for awhile.
—Elizabeth McKenzie, The Saturday Evening Post, January/February 2012
Prices were going up rapidly nine months ago, peaked awhile back,
and now, we're starting to see cotton prices go down and be more stable.
—Jayne O'Donnell, USA Today, 27 June 2011
On the other side, there is frequent use of a while as an adverb.
If you are planning to stay a while,
rent a covered cabana with cushioned chairs.
—Amy Bertrand, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 5 July 2015
In this case, thedifficulty of deciding what form is correct
iscomplicated by the fact that
a numberof noun phrases can function as adverbs.
Can you stay a week?
Can you stay a few minutes longer?
Can you stay a little while longer?
These adverbial noun phrases beginning with a and a space
make it difficult to say that a while should not be used in such contexts.
It is obviousthat
both awhile and a while are in wide use in places
where some language commentators
believe the opposite form belongs.
It is also obviousthat
using awhile or a while makes no great difference to the reader.
There are, therefore, a few things you can do.
You can follow your own feel for the expression
and writeit as one word when that seems right
and as twowords when that seems right.
If you don't trustyour own feeling for language that far,
you can use a rule of thumb based on the consensus of the handbooks:
use a while after a preposition and before ago or back,
and use awhile inother places.
You can also substitute the phrase "for a while"
forthe one-word form in your context to help you decide.
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language,
Awhile
Usage Note:
The adverb awhile and the noun phrase a while
can lead to confusion because they sound the same
and the noun phrase can function like an adverb.
Noun phrases denoting time periods can often be used as adverbs,
as one day in We'll move to Seattle one day.
The same is true for a while.
Thus, Let's stop and rest a while is correct,
since a while is here equivalent to "one day" in the previous phrase.
Similarly, Let's stop and rest awhile is correct,
where awhile functions as an adverb with a similar function to phrases
like for an hour.
Care should be taken with prepositional phrases.
Only a while can follow a preposition in a prepositional phrase,
since only noun phrases can be the objects of prepositions.
Thus, I'll stay for a while is acceptable,
but not I'll stay for awhile.
(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 of the English Language,
Usage Note:
As a conjunction,
while is used to indicate that two events are happening at the same time
(While I was preparing the hamburger patties,
she sliced the onions and tomatoes),
but it can also be used to contrast two clauses in a nontemporal way
(While the "h" is silent in the word "honest,"
it is pronounced in the word "hostile").
While has been used in this nontemporal sense for hundreds of years,
and the latter sentence was judged acceptable by 75 percent of the
Usage Panel in our 2012 survey.
The Panel was somewhat less accepting, however,
of this use of while in a sentence where it could potentially be
misread as having a temporal meaning
(31 percent disapproved of the sentence
She said she wanted to go to a movie, while he proposed seeing a play).
And 43 percent disapproved of a sentence
in which the two contrasting clauses are explicitly not simultaneous:
While the Tigers beat the Cubs last week,
this week the Cubs beat the Tigers.
To avoid ambiguity or an unintended suggestion of simultaneity,
choose a different conjunction, such as although or whereas.
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary
usage:
The adverb awhile is always spelled as one word:
We rested awhile.
The noun phrase a while is used,
esp. in edited writing, when a preposition is expressed:
We rested for a while.
The one-word form,
however, is appearing more frequently after a preposition:
We rested for awhile.
Merriam-Webster Dictionary
Usage Notes
‘While Away’: When the Hours Just Fly By
Where does the time go?
The word while likes to keep busy.
It's entered in the dictionary with four parts of speech.
The firstis a noun: take off your coat and stay for a while.
There’s theconjunction, meaning “during the time that”:
someone called while you were out.
There is an entry for apreposition, meaning “until.”
This usage can be found in Shakespeare (“while then, God be with you”) but is unlikelyto turn up in modern English.
The fourthpart of speech for while is a verb.
Often used with away, it means
“to cause to pass especially without boredom or in a pleasant manner”:
Of course, if these activities are of no interest,
there's no shame in whiling away the days by the resort's beautiful pool. Just be sure to bring a good book.
— Kimberly Holland, Coastal Living, 26 Sept. 2018
A trip to Mykonos town (‘Chora’) is certainly recommended
for first time visitors.
180° Sunset Bar is a beautiful spot for cocktails with a view.
Or you can just while away the time wandering the pretty streets of Little Venice.
— Lindsay Silberman, Town & Country, 20 Sept. 2018
Earlier this year, travelers looking to while away the time
at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport could have browsed
for designer brands at Clutch, Luxury Boutique
or Sunglass Icon at the center of Concourse F.
— Kelly Yamanouchi, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 5 Sept. 2018
While as a verb dates to at least the 17th century,
and was preceded by two other senses that fell out of use:
a transitive sense meaning “to keep (a person) occupied,”
and as part of the phrase while it, meaning “to keep up or endure.”
Perhaps because we aren’t used to seeing words function
both as conjunctions and as verbs,
while away sometimes gets spelled as wile away:
This isn't to say that "The Nun" has no redeeming value.
Anyone who wants to wile away an hour-and-a-half with jump scares
and pretty visuals could certainly do much worse,
and if nothing else it does provide contemporary culture critics
with an interesting insight into the minds of modern moviegoers.
— Matthew Rozsa, Salon, 22 Sept. 2018
With its folk-rock score, composed in the key of James Taylor
by Schaefer and played by him and the other actors on guitars
and a trio of onstage instrumentalists on violin, keyboard and drums,
“Light Years” reminds you of any number of nights of easy listenin’
you might have wiled away in a coffee house or bar.
— Peter Marks, Washington Post, 19 Feb. 2018
This usage is common enough to be shown in the dictionary,
and in fact has shown use in a number of classic works of literature:
Their only hope was in meeting a ship, although the gale,
which had raged all night, had blown them out of their course.
To this hope all clung, and wiled away the weary hours,
watching the horizon and cheering one another with prophecies of speedy rescue.
— Louisa May Alcott, Jo’s Boys, 1886
'To wile away the time till your father comes,'
he said,--'pray is there much robbing
and murdering of seamen about the water-side now?'
— Charles Dickens, Our Mutual Friend, 1865
The conflation of while with wile might be partly explained
by the existence of another verb sense of wile meaning
“to lure as if by a magic spell : entice,” which can also be used with away:
Too much must not be expected from the flesh and blood
even of John Hiram's bedesmen,
and the positive promise of one hundred a year
to each of the twelve old men had its way with most of them.
The great Bunce was not to be wiled away,
and was upheld in his orthodoxy by two adherents.
— Anthony Trollope, The Warden, 1855
One might even make a connection to one’s hours
being occupied by the lure of some kind of activity
(perhaps different from the one you are supposed to be doing).
You might while (or wile) away your hours reading fun
and informative articles about language on a dictionary’s website,
for example.
And really, what would be a more productive use of your time?
Collins English Usage
Usage:
It was formerly considered incorrect
to use while to mean in spite of the fact that or whereas,
but these uses have now become acceptable
Collins COBUILD English Usage
while
1. used in time clauses
If one thing happens while another thing is happening,
the two things happen at the same time.
He stayed with me while he was looking for a new house.
While I was out she was trying to reach me on the phone.
2. 'while' in concessive clauses
While has a special use which is not related to time.
You use it to introduce a clause that contrasts with something else
that you are saying.
Miguel loved sports while Julio preferred to read a book.
While I have some sympathy for these people, I think they went too far.
3. 'a while'
A while is a period of time.
After a while, my eyes got used to the darkness.
Let's just sit down for a while.
Dictionary of Problem Words in English
Awhile& a while
These words cause trouble with spelling,
but their meaning areeasily distinguished.
While is a noun meaning
“a period of time”
and with a is correctly spelled and pronounced
as two wordin a sentence
such as: “Ellie had to wait a while for the bus.”
The meaning of awhileis “for a period or interval of time.”
The for is definitely part of the meaning,
so that it is wordyto write “I then rested for awhile.”
The distinctionbetween awhile (an adverb) and while (a noun)
is shown in this sentence:
“He asked me to stay awhile, just a little while longer.”
Common Errors In English Usage Dictionary
A while& awhile
When “awhile” is spelled as a single word,
it isan adverb meaning “for a time” (“stay awhile”);
butwhen “while” is the object of a prepositional phrase,
like“Lend me your monkey wrench for a while”
the “while” must be separated from the “a.”
(But if the preposition“for” were lacking in this sentence,
“awhile” could be used in this way:
“Lend me your monkey wrench awhile.”)
