We useduringbefore nouns and noun phrases to refer to when something happens over a period of time.Duringcan refer to the whole time of the event:
You are not allowed to use your mobile phoneduringclass.(the whole of the class)
I have to have my window openduringthe night.(the whole of the night)
In this meaning,duringcan often mean the same asin:
His grandfather fought in the armyduringthe First World War.(or …inthe First World War.)
When I was a kid, our cousins often came to stay with usduringthe summer.(or …inthe summer.)
Duringcan refer to something that happened while the main event was taking place. In such contexts,duringmeans ‘at some unspecified point in time’ and is more common thanin:
What was that noise I heardduringthe night, I wonder? or …inthe night.(I heard a noise at an unspecified point in the night.)
One day,duringthe Second World War, her father just disappeared.(He disappeared at an unspecified point.)
We don’t useduringwhen we refer to numbers and lengths of time. In this case, we usefor:
They lived in Edinburghforfour years.
Not:They lived in Edinburgh during four years.
However, we can useduringwiththe firstorthelast+ length of time or time expression:
During the first three yearsof the war, 50,000 civilians were killed.(duringrefers to when this happened.)
I haven’t done any exerciseduring the last week.(duringrefers to when I didn’t do exercise.)
See also:
For
Duringorfor?
Typical error
We useduringbefore nouns and noun phrases but not before verbs:
WhileI was waiting for the bus, I phoned some friends.
Not:During I was waiting for the bus…