pendant que vs alors que

Question

Why is alors que wrong rather than pendant que. Is alors que only used for opposition?

Accepted Answer

Hi Earl, 
You will use 'alors que' when there is a contrast between the two activities, here they are just simultaneous.
Mia construira un chateau de sable pendant que je lirai sur le banc
Bonne Continuation ?

Answer

Hi Earl,I assume that you are referring to the text   "feed the ducks (while) eating ...." and "then we'll walk up to the playground......"I would expect "pendant que" to be used in the first text and "alors que" in the second.Alors que takes the sense of "at that time / then" "pendant que" takes the sense of "while" (actual periods of time seen to completion)There is more here:   https://www.lawlessfrench.com/grammar/conjunctive-phrases/https://www.francaisfacile.com/exercices/exercice-francais-2/exercice-francais-65758.phpI hope that this may help?Bonne journéeJim