pendant que vs tandis que

Marnie C.C1Kwiziq Q&A regular contributor

pendant que vs tandis que

just did exercise and used “tandis que” au lieu de “pendant que”.  when does one use which and why?  Merci!
Asked 5 years ago
Tom K.C1 Kwiziq Q&A super contributor

Hi Marnie,

Since has remained unanswered for over a week I'll have a go at explaining the difference.

Although they both nominally mean 'While', 'pendant que' is more of a temporal conjunction indicating that indicates the time frame of an action during which something else happens.

Pendant que j'étais en France j'ai visité la tour Eiffel. - While I was in France I visited the Eiffel Tower.

Tandis que signifies a contrast and can often be translated as whereas.

Paul est un travailleur acharné tandis que son frère est un bon à rien. - Paul is a hardworking man while (whereas) his brother is a wastrel.

Hope this helps,

Tom

Marnie C.C1Kwiziq Q&A regular contributor

Salut Tom!  That makes sense...and resound in my echo-chamber of previously known & spoken French!

Merci!

pendant que vs tandis que

just did exercise and used “tandis que” au lieu de “pendant que”.  when does one use which and why?  Merci!

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