英语语法：136 "Although" Versus "While"

By Mignon Fogarty

Today's topic is “although” versus¹ “while.”
I often have to tell people that their pet peeves³ aren't actually hard-and-fast grammar rules. I have to tell people that it's OK to split infinitives⁴, and that in some cases it's fine to end a sentence with a preposition or use the word “between” when they're choosing among more than two items. ?
I know it's upsetting to learn that your nearest and dearest beliefs are wrong, so this week, I'm going to talk about my own mistaken peeve². It bugs⁵ me no end when people use “while” to mean “although” or “whereas,” but no matter how hard I looked, I couldn't convince myself that I am right.
“Although”: A Concessive Conjunction
You see, I think “although”means “in spite of the fact that,” as in “Although Sir Fragalot is tall, Squiggly and Aardvark consider him an equal.” “Although”is what's called a concessive conjunction, meaning that it is used to express a concession⁶.
“While”: A Sense of Time
On the other hand, I believe “while” should be reserved to mean “at the same time.” It should have a temporal sense, as in “While Squiggly gathered wood, Aardvark hid the maracas.”?
At first I was sure I was right because in his book Usage and Abusage Eric Partridge said that “'while' for ‘although’ is a perverted⁷ use of the correct sense of ‘while,’ which properly means 'at the same time.'”?
“While” Meaning “Although”
Ha!?But, then I discovered that Fowler's Modern English Usage says it is normal and acceptable to use “while” to mean "although (2)." Fowler even called Partridge's comment “indefensible.” It's a grammar rumble⁸!?
I decided⁹ to go over their heads and see what the Oxford¹⁰ English Dictionary has to say, and they back up Fowler with an entry saying “while”can mean “although.” Two additional dictionaries concurred¹¹. Further, Bryan Garner¹² says the non-temporal use of “while” (in other words, “while” to mean “although” or “whereas”) ranks at stage 5 on his language-change index (3)--stage 5, which he defines as “universally accepted (not counting pseudo-snoot eccentrics).”
Ouch. I don't want to be a pseudo-snoot eccentric. I was thwarted¹³, but I'd given it a good shot. ?
One reason I'm telling this story is that I want you to know that I go to this much trouble to validate¹⁴ all your pet peeves too, but sometimes it isn't possible.?
The Confusion Exception
My only small vindication¹⁵ is that there are times when it's confusing to use “while” to mean “although” or “whereas (4),” and then it isn't allowed. For example, if you were to say, “While Squiggly is yellow, Aardvark is blue,” people wouldn't know whether you were contrasting the two characters' colors or saying that Aardvark is only blue when Squiggly is yellow. In cases like that, you have to use “although” or “whereas.”?
So, moving forward, I'll continue to reserve “while” for times when I mean “at the same time” because old habits are hard to break, but I'll refrain from automatically striking out “while” every time I see it in a document.
Next, I have two related bonus facts.
“Although” Versus “Though”
First, it's fine to substitute “though” for “although.”In the way we're using it here, “though” is simply a less formal version of “although,” and it's in such common use that it's OK to use it in formal writing too. In fact, “though” came before “although.” In the 1300s, before “although” became one word, it was two words--“all” and “though”--with the “all” there to add emphasis to “though (5, 6).”
You can't always do the opposite and substitute “although” for “though” because “though” also has other meanings. Here are two examples where you couldn't make a substitution.
He ran as though zombies were chasing him.
Cats make me sneeze; I love dogs, though.
“While” Versus “Whilst”
Second, “while” and “whilst” mean the same thing. Although “whilst” is still used in British English, it is considered archaic¹⁶ in American English (1, 7). It's just one of those quirks¹⁷ of language that “whilst”survived in Britain but perished in America.?If you're an American who wants to sound snooty, you can use “whilst” in place of “while,” but I wouldn't recommend it.
 

1 versus   

prep.以…为对手，对；与…相比之下

参考例句：

• The big match tonight is England versus Spain.今晚的大赛是英格兰对西班牙。
• The most exciting game was Harvard versus Yale.最富紧张刺激的球赛是哈佛队对耶鲁队。

2 peeve   

v.气恼，怨恨；n.麻烦的事物，怨恨

参考例句：

• She was in a peeve over it.她对这很气恼。
• She was very peeved about being left out.她为被遗漏而恼怒。

3 peeves   

n.麻烦的事物，怨恨，触怒( peeve的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• It peeves me to be ordered out of my own house. 命令我从自己的家中出去，真太气人了。 来自辞典例句
• Write down two of your pet peeves about home or any other situation. 写下两个你厌烦的家务事或其他的情况。 来自超越目标英语 第3册

4 infinitives   

n.（动词）不定式( infinitive的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Her litmus test for good breeding is whether you split infinitives. 她测试别人是否具有良好教养的标准是看对方是否在不定式的动词前加修饰副词。 来自互联网
• Nouns, adjectives and infinitives can be used as objective complements. 名词，形容词及不定式可用作补语。 来自互联网

5 bugs   

adj.疯狂的，发疯的n.窃听器( bug的名词复数 )；病菌；虫子；[计算机]（制作软件程序所产生的意料不到的）错误

参考例句：

• All programs have bugs and need endless refinement. 所有的程序都有漏洞，都需要不断改进。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The sacks of rice were swarming with bugs. 一袋袋的米里长满了虫子。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 concession   

n.让步，妥协；特许(权)

参考例句：

• We can not make heavy concession to the matter.我们在这个问题上不能过于让步。
• That is a great concession.这是很大的让步。

7 perverted   

adj.不正当的v.滥用( pervert的过去式和过去分词 )；腐蚀；败坏；使堕落

参考例句：

• Some scientific discoveries have been perverted to create weapons of destruction. 某些科学发明被滥用来生产毁灭性武器。
• sexual acts, normal and perverted 正常的和变态的性行为

8 rumble   

n.隆隆声；吵嚷；v.隆隆响；低沉地说

参考例句：

• I hear the rumble of thunder in the distance.我听到远处雷声隆隆。
• We could tell from the rumble of the thunder that rain was coming.我们根据雷的轰隆声可断定，天要下雨了。

9 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

10 Oxford   

n.牛津（英国城市）

参考例句：

• At present he has become a Professor of Chemistry at Oxford.他现在已是牛津大学的化学教授了。
• This is where the road to Oxford joins the road to London.这是去牛津的路与去伦敦的路的汇合处。

11 concurred   

同意（concur的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• Historians have concurred with each other in this view. 历史学家在这个观点上已取得一致意见。
• So many things concurred to give rise to the problem. 许多事情同时发生而导致了这一问题。

12 garner   

v.收藏；取得

参考例句：

• He has garnered extensive support for his proposals.他的提议得到了广泛的支持。
• Squirrels garner nuts for the winter.松鼠为过冬储存松果。

13 thwarted   

阻挠( thwart的过去式和过去分词 )； 使受挫折； 挫败； 横过

参考例句：

• The guards thwarted his attempt to escape from prison. 警卫阻扰了他越狱的企图。
• Our plans for a picnic were thwarted by the rain. 我们的野餐计划因雨受挫。

14 validate   

vt.（法律）使有效，使生效

参考例句：

• You need an official signature to validate the order.你要有正式的签字，这张汇票才能生效。
• In order to validate the agreement,both parties sign it.为使协议有效，双方在上面签了字。

15 vindication   

n.洗冤，证实

参考例句：

• There is much to be said in vindication of his claim.有很多理由可以提出来为他的要求作辩护。
• The result was a vindication of all our efforts.这一结果表明我们的一切努力是必要的。

16 archaic   

adj.(语言、词汇等)古代的，已不通用的

参考例句：

• The company does some things in archaic ways,such as not using computers for bookkeeping.这个公司有些做法陈旧，如记账不使用电脑。
• Shaanxi is one of the Chinese archaic civilized origins which has a long history.陕西省是中国古代文明发祥之一，有悠久的历史。

17 quirks   

n.奇事，巧合( quirk的名词复数 )；怪癖

参考例句：

• One of his quirks is that he refuses to travel by train. 他的怪癖之一是不愿乘火车旅行。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• All men have their own quirks and twists. 人人都有他们自己的怪癖和奇想。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》