Shadowing Practice: 2698 - In a While or For a While? Tricky English Grammar Explained - Learn English Speaking with Video

Hello, Lindsay.

How are you today?

Hey, I'm doing great, Aubrey.

What is something that you've done for a while?

I've been going paddleboarding for a while.

We just went Sunday to the Salt River.

And even in the dead of summer here in Arizona, this is something you can do outside.

So you're in and out of the river.

It's much cooler on the water.

So there's not a lot we can do outside these days.

But so the river's kind of packed, but it's really fun.

And you've got your cooler and your radio and what radio?

Right on your paddleboard.

I love it.

Yeah.

It's kind of amazing.

What about you?

What's something you've done for a while?

I would say I've been going to Orange Theory for a while.

So it's the way it's like HIIT training and some weightlifting.

But when I was pregnant, I kind of stopped doing a little bit of the weightlifting towards the end.

So I need to regain my muscle mass now.

Yes.

Right.

I know we need to be lifting heavy speaking of pregnancy

this episode was inspired by something I said to Michelle you guys know she just and

if you missed the episode she had some exciting news stay

to the end we'll share details about the episode in case you missed it

but what I was saying to her I had texted her I won't see you in a

while and then I corrected it

and changed it to I won't see you for a while

and I was like wait yeah let me think about this

and this inspired this great episode because this is really interesting tricky grammar

and yeah we want to dive into how we use these today

i love when episodes are inspired by real text messages

or real conversations that is how you know

that you're learning real english right here on allers english aubrey

so good yes so true so guys hit follow

if you missed michelle's exciting news you might not be following

the episode you're missing amazing episodes you can definitely listen to that after this one we'll share all of the details, but hit follow so you never miss an episode.

Absolutely.

All right.

Good stuff.

So let's get into it.

Let's tell us, tell us, Aubrey, were you right or wrong?

Or what was the right thing to say in that moment?

Let's dive into both of these.

So it sort of depends on what you mean, right?

Right.

When you say for a while, let's go into for a while first.

This means during a period of time

so the emphasis is on the duration of the time right

so for example i lived in chicago for a

while you're talking about how long you lived there okay yeah i lived in chicago for a

while or she worked quietly for a while before taking a break

so it's all about duration is what you're telling us yes exactly

and then in a while is more about the future right i'll call you in a

while has nothing to do with duration of time it means

at some point in the future i'll call you in a

while i'll call you in a while or i'll see you in a

while right so you know in a while

when you'll is more about like when you'll arrive and for a

while is like how long you'll stay there

so what's interesting is what i was texting michelle really could be either because if i'm saying i won't you know,

it'll, it'll, I'll see you in a while means sometime in the future.

And if I say, I won't see you for a while, I'm talking about the duration of time that we won't see each other.

Right.

So it sort of depends.

Right.

The key piece is that you use the negative.

So I will not see you for a while would make more sense.

Right.

If you said, I won't see you in a while, you're saying, I won't see you in the future.

Right.

Exactly.

So if you're using the negative right I won't see you for a

while I will see you positive I will see you in a

while so here's a pro tip

if you can replace it you know the for a while

or in a while with an amount of time like 30 minutes

or for two hours use for a while you know we chatted for a

while I won't see you for a while because I could say

if it's a few weeks I could add I could put time in there but But, you know, if it's in a while, then you can't replace it with an amount of time.

You'd replace it with like in the future, sometime in the future, right?

Right.

In 30 minutes or soon would be replacements, right?

For in a while.

Exactly, right?

If you can replace it with soon or in the future, in 30 minutes, then you'd say in a while.

But here's the other thing that's tricky we have some fixed expressions with a while that we use really often, which have different meanings.

So we're going to share a couple of those as well.

Yeah.

Interesting.

All right.

So we have an expression once in a while, right?

So not to be confused, but what does it mean here?

Yeah.

It means occasionally, right?

100

Oh, I eat fast food once in a while.

101

So this is a very different meaning than in a while by itself.

102

Yes, exactly.

103

You can't split them.

104

You can't leave off part of this phrase you really need this chunk right

105

or the phrase in a little while in a little

106

while meaning in a short amount of time so I'll see you in a little while

107

that essentially means the same thing as in a

108

while right we're just short maybe a shorter

109

because it could be you know in a

110

while could mean further whereas in a little

111

while you mean not much time at all right exactly

112

and then a while ago what does that mean yeah

113

so this means sometime in the past I saw her a

114

while ago you're intentionally being vague you might not even remember how long it's been right

115

so yeah all of these chunks we use with these a

116

while and this is interesting too a little grammar note here

117

that for all of the phrases we've talked about

118

so far it's written as two words a while

119

but we also have a while written as one word right a single word adverb

120

that means for a short time for example I need to rest a

121

while I've been sleeping a while and it doesn't matter luckily

122

when you're speaking because they sound the same but

123

when you're writing yes they're written differently this is definitely one of the things

124

that i have been confused about in the past you're not

125

alone lindsay i see mistakes all the time right this is

126

very common a lot of people don't realize don't know there's a difference

127

so just write it both

128

and it's definitely not the end of the world even in you know business emails most people are not going to, right?

129

It's pretty much just grammarians and English teachers that might notice.

130

So not something to stress about too much.

131

Right.

132

So just to be really clear, we're asking the question here, when do you separate the A from the while?

133

Like when you're writing it, right?

134

In a written format.

135

When do we separate it?

136

So I'll bring, again, just to be clear, when do we separate, how do we know when to separate A with while?

137

So for all of these expressions, everything we've said, it's two words, a while with a space between, right?

138

The only time it's written as one word is

139

when it's a single word adverb that is describing how long something would happen.

140

It means for a short time, right?

141

So for example, you would say, oh, I need to rest for a short time.

142

If you replace that with a while, then it's written as one word.

143

He's been sleeping a while means the same as for a short time or for a long time, that's when it's one word written.

144

I feel like I usually say he's been sleeping for a while.

145

I put for in there most of the time.

146

What do you do?

147

What do you speak?

148

What do you tend to do?

149

Oh, that's interesting.

150

I think both.

151

I feel like I do both.

152

That's where it's tricky because once you add the preposition in a while, for a while, it becomes a noun phrase and these versions require

153

that it be a while written as two words

154

because now instead of this single word adverb you've made it

155

a noun phrase really interesting really interesting i kind of feel

156

like just leaving it alone uh i need to rest a

157

while feels a little more whimsical a little more poetic to

158

me i i feel like i'd be more likely to find

159

that in a book or a poem

160

or something yeah i see what you mean it does sound more conversational to say i need to rest for a while.

161

They're both accurate.

162

Yes.

163

Right.

164

It's interesting how it just sort of makes it slightly more casual to add the preposition.

165

Yeah.

166

So if you guys are struggling with that, if you're confused, don't worry.

167

You're not alone.

168

Most of the native speaking world is also struggling with that.

169

Yeah.

170

Most native speakers, they just think it's a mistake.

171

If they see it written as one or two words, they probably wouldn't be able to describe why.

172

Interesting.

173

That's right.

174

Exactly.

175

Hey, quick question.

176

Do you want to feel more confident when you speak English?

177

If so, we made a free guide for you.

178

It'll help you avoid those common mistakes and start speaking more naturally in real conversations.

179

Go grab it in the description below.

180

And if this is helpful for you, make sure that you like and subscribe.

181

We're here five times a week to help you connect in English.

182

All right, Aubrey, let's do a role play, put these into action.

183

So who's Emma, friends here that haven't seen each other for in a

184

while for a while or in a while um i will be emma

185

and you are jack okay ready all right all right hey i feel like i haven't seen you for a

186

while how have you been i know it's re it has really been right really has been a

187

while since we caught up things have been crazy at work

188

same here i've barely had a free evening for a while now.

189

I've just been stuck in back -to -back projects.

190

Yeah, I get that.

191

I think the last time we hung out was dinner downtown, and that was a while ago.

192

Exactly.

193

So what have you been up to?

194

Well, I'll actually be traveling next week, so I won't be around for a while after that.

195

Oh, wow.

196

So I'm not going to see you for a while after this weekend.

197

Probably not, but we should definitely catch up before I leave.

198

Yeah, we probably wouldn't find that quite as often in a conversation.

199

I crammed a lot of them into this role play.

200

We did, we did.

201

And you put a little trick for me there.

202

There was a mistake in our role play and I had to correct it in real time.

203

Yeah, well done.

204

We got it right.

205

All right, let's share some of these.

206

All right, Aubrey, so let's go through it.

207

I started and said, I haven't seen you for a while.

208

So it would be written as two words here.

209

And I'm talking about the duration of time.

210

Means it's been a long time i haven't seen you for a long time i haven't seen you for a

211

while yep and then jake said i know it really has been a

212

while since we caught up it has been a certain amount of time right a long amount of time

213

and then i say i've barely had a free evening for a

214

while now we'll often add now we've talked about this on the podcast before why we add now

215

so it's not necessarily needed for sure you might just say, Oh, I haven't had a free evening for a while.

216

This, you know, we'll hear and I'll use this to say for a while now for emphasis, right?

217

I'm kind of emphasizing how long the time feels.

218

Yeah.

219

Great. And yeah.

220

Did we talk about that recently?

221

How, how we add now and a lot of different contexts as native speakers.

222

That is a great episode topic.

223

I'm glad that we've already done it.

224

We've already covered it.

225

So guys go back into our archives and check that out.

226

Um, Um, Jake said, I think the last time we hung out was dinner downtown and that was a while ago.

227

Okay.

228

Yes, exactly.

229

And then you also said, I won't be around for a while after that.

230

So you're talking about an amount of time here.

231

And then Emma said, oh, wow.

232

So I guess I won't see you for a while again after this weekend.

233

So this is where it starts to feel really repetitive with a while, right?

234

This is one of those where we're like, maybe we need some other ways to say this, right?

235

because it's true in a conversation we try not to repeat

236

vocabulary repeat the same phrases would try to switch it up

237

and there are other ways to say this of course right

238

i could have said yeah oh i'm not gonna see you

239

forever it's gonna be ages before we see each other again

240

right ages you could take quite a bit of time maybe there's a lot of

241

that we just didn't have time to go through them today guys

242

but there are alternatives maybe we'll do a follow -up episode yes right Definitely.

243

And we want to make sure that if you missed it, scroll up for $26 .94.

244

We are ahead of schedule with Michelle's exciting news.

245

So we won't spoil it here.

246

Go back and listen to that episode if you missed it for Michelle's news.

247

Such an exciting year here at Allers English with everyone's good news happening.

248

Oh my gosh.

249

So excited for you guys to hear that episode.

250

Really good stuff.

251

Aubrey, what's our final takeaway here for a while? this is interesting

252

so as we were saying these are mistakes

253

that even native speakers make right there are

254

so many small details in english grammar

255

that can trip us up spelling being strange like this

256

or really similar phrases for a while in a

257

while it's not a huge difference right

258

but hopefully this breakdown gave you some more details some pro tips about

259

when to use which one because we often talk about this, like how long it's been since we've seen someone, right?

260

If you're running into a friend you haven't seen for ages, you want to mention that.

261

Yeah.

262

And connection matters.

263

Don't get tripped up with, you know, if you're not quite sure in the moment, which one works, just go ahead and choose the, you know, whatever one comes to mind.

264

Right.

265

Whoever you're listening to probably doesn't know either.

266

That's the good news.

267

They don't know either.

268

Exactly.

269

All right.

270

Great episode today, Aubrey.

271

I'll see you very soon.

272

I'll see you in a while.

273

Right.

274

I'll see Take care.

275

Bye.

📺 Zelfde Kanaal

Great scott! This connection is strong!

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Woordenschat en spreektips bij deze les

Deze video bevat 275 zinnen en 2642 woorden om na te spreken. Het gesproken deel duurt 13:33. De spreker praat snel, ongeveer 195 woorden per minuut, dus reken op verbonden en ingeslikte klanken. 85% van de woorden hoort bij de 3.000 meest gebruikte Engelse woorden; de rest kun je beter vooraf bekijken.

Belangrijke woorden in deze video

15 woorden uit de video die het leren waard zijn, met uitspraak en betekenis:

Woord	Uitspraak	Betekenis
phrase zelfstandig naamwoord	/ˈfɹeɪ̯z/	uitspraak
duration zelfstandig naamwoord	/dʒʊˈɹeɪ.ʃən/	tijdsduur, duur
confused bijvoeglijk naamwoord	/kənˈfjuːzd/	verward, in de war
grammar zelfstandig naamwoord	/ˈɡɹæm.ə(ɹ)/	spraakkunst, grammatica
sometime bijwoord	/ˈsʌmˌtaɪm/	ooit
inspire werkwoord	/ɪnˈspaɪə(ɹ)/	inspireren
tricky bijvoeglijk naamwoord	/ˈtɹɪk.i/	netelig, netelige
downtown zelfstandig naamwoord	/ˈdaʊ̯nˌtaʊ̯n/	binnenstad, stadscentrum
depend werkwoord	/dɪˈpɛnd/	afhangen
emphasis zelfstandig naamwoord	/ˈɛmfəsɪs/	nadruk
dive werkwoord	/daɪv/	duiken, onderwaterzwemmen
chunk zelfstandig naamwoord	/t͡ʃʌŋk/	stuk, brok
noun zelfstandig naamwoord	/naʊn/	zelfstandig naamwoord, substantief
topic zelfstandig naamwoord	/ˈtɑpɪk/	onderwerp, thema
naturally bijwoord	/ˈnæt͡ʃ.(ə.)ɹə.li/	natuurlijk

Phrasal verbs die je zult horen

Woord	Betekenis
go back werkwoord	teruggaan

Grammatica in deze video

De structuren die de spreker het meest gebruikt, met de exacte woorden uit de video:

Structuur	In de video
Voorwaardelijke zinnen if + zin, will/would + werkwoord — een voorwaarde en het gevolg	if i'm saying i won't you · if I say, I won't see · If you said, I won't see
Present perfect continuous have/has been + -ing — iets dat eerder begon en nog bezig is	I've been going · I've been sleeping
Present perfect have/has + voltooid deelwoord — iets uit het verleden dat nu nog telt	you've done · we've talked · have been confused
Lijdende vorm be + voltooid deelwoord — het gaat om wat er gebeurt, niet om wie het doet	was inspired · are inspired · been stuck

Uitspraak om op te letten

De spreker gebruikt 110 samentrekkingen en verkorte vormen, zoals you're, won't, I'll. Spreek ze kort uit, zoals je ze hoort.

De klanken “sh” en “zh”: duration /dʒʊˈɹeɪ.ʃən/, essentially /ɪˈsɛnʃəli/, occasionally /əˈkeɪʒənəli/, casual /ˈkæʒ(u)əl/, gosh /ɡɑːʃ/
Lange woorden — let op de klemtoon: naturally /ˈnæt͡ʃ.(ə.)ɹə.li/, necessarily /ˌnɛs.əˈsɛɹ.ə.li/, essentially /ɪˈsɛnʃəli/, occasionally /əˈkeɪʒənəli/, differently /ˈdɪf.ə.ɹənt.li/

Zo oefen je met deze video

Luister de hele video één keer zonder te spreken en noteer de woorden die je niet kent.
Begin op 0,75× snelheid, spreek zin voor zin na en ga terug naar normale snelheid zodra het makkelijk gaat.
Neem jezelf op en vergelijk met het origineel; let daarbij op woorden als phrase, duration, confused.

Wat is de Shadowing-techniek?

Shadowing is een wetenschappelijk onderbouwde taalleermethode die oorspronkelijk is ontwikkeld voor professionele tolkentraining en gepopulariseerd door polyglot Dr. Alexander Arguelles. De methode is eenvoudig maar krachtig: je luistert naar native Engelse audio en herhaalt het onmiddellijk hardop — als een schaduw die de spreker volgt met slechts 1–2 seconden vertraging. In tegenstelling tot passief luisteren of grammaticadrills, dwingt shadowing je hersenen en mondspieren om echte spraakpatronen tegelijkertijd te verwerken en te reproduceren. Onderzoek toont aan dat het de uitspraaknauwkeurigheid, intonatie, ritme, verbonden spraak, luisterbegrip en spreekvaardigheid aanzienlijk verbetert — waardoor het een van de meest effectieve methoden is voor IELTS Speaking-voorbereiding en echte Engelse communicatie.

Shadowing-techniek: lees de volledige stap-voor-stap-gids →

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Woordenschat en spreektips bij deze les

Belangrijke woorden in deze video

Phrasal verbs die je zult horen

Grammatica in deze video

Uitspraak om op te letten

Zo oefen je met deze video

Wat is de Shadowing-techniek?