What is the difference between awhile and a while

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 obvious that both awhile and a while are in wide use in places where some language commentators believe the opposite form belongs. It is also obvious that 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 write it as one word when that seems right and as two words when that seems right.

If you don't trust your 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 in other places.

You can also substitute the phrase "for a while" for the one-word form in your context to help you decide. Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free! Log in Sign Up. Usage Notes 'Awhile' vs. What to Know Awhile is an adverb that means "for a while," whereas "while" is a noun meaning "a period of time.

Most sources I checked Chicago, Garner, AP Stylebook recommend the guidelines I give in this article, but I found one dissenter: an American Heritage Dictionary usage note says that the noun phrase "a while" can be used adverbially, so that both "Go play awhile" and "Go play a while" are correct. Also, Garner and the Merriam-Webster online dictionary note that the use of "awhile" as the object of a preposition "Go play for awhile" is increasing. Her popular LinkedIn Learning courses help people write better to communicate better.

Jump to Navigation. By Mignon Fogarty Grammar Girl. December 15, Although some people think that awhile is a new word, recently added to English, this word has been in existence for a long time. He paused awhile before announcing the winners. A while is a two-word phrase. A is an indefinite article and while is a noun. Therefore, a while consists of a noun preceded by an indefinite article. The noun, while refers to a period of time. When writing, we need to be careful when using these words with preposition phrases.

A while is noun phrase and used after prepositional phrases. All of these are two words. Is it a while or awhile? A while is a noun phrases but can also function adverbially.