That is snobbery.
Those fools that mock those using whilst are precisely thamVery interesting conversation! (due to the time of the action? Thanks!
I use it some others have suggested – it brings a sense of poignancy, approaching quaintness. It’s not like “whom” which might be correct, but always sounds stilted to me unless it’s in a stock phrase like “To whom it may concern”This is an extremely interesting conversation.
I must have come across it somewhere in a novel.I have never heard a speaker of American English use whilst in any context. Progressive tenses use the BE verb + a verb in ~ing form.
For Example; My father was washing his car while my mother was cooking. Most Brits, on the other hand, will swap happily between while and whilst, although some Brits also find whilst a little outdated. I felt compelled to respond due to the broadcasting reference. Has anyone ever heard of this? I’ve always tried to maintain decent grammar and spelling, but I do not know why ‘whilst’ is even in my vocabulary.
Both are correct in that one refers to an i,,ediate and the other to an ongoing event. Maybe I have a chip on my shoulder but I do most definitely consider this usage pretentious.
The word in the example sentence does not match the entry word. Someone can wait while breakfast is being finished (by the other participants), but the example sentence leaves the reader asking ‘finished with what – what was breakfast doing?’! I have never heard a person use the word “whilst” in speaking.As a Brit relocated to America, I can’t stand seeing in The Telegraph reportage the uninhibited use of the word “Whilst” and almost never “While”.
I suspect that those who feel it is need to brush that chip off their shoulders!I used “whilst” (accidentally) and then wondered why.
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When used as a conjunction or an adverb, while and whilst are interchangeable: To the fool (I won’t mention him by name) here who makes the sweeping generalisation that “whilst” is only used by those who are trying to act snobbish, and who implies that educated native English speakers would never use ‘whilst’ in place of ‘while’ is completely wrong. While my brother was driving I was reading a book. Clear explanations of natural written and spoken English I’m from a working-class background, and live on a council estate in South Wales. ), ex:I was chatting with David whilst the accident happened!I was chatting with David when the accident happened!But in the case of using “while”, the example would be:I was chatting with David while the accident happened in the office? Much to my dismay, US news and/or programming is, unfortunately, not a good place to find proper English. It all depends on the context in which it’s used. I use “whilst” because (a) it is as correct as using “while” and (b) I’ve always used “whilst”. mand on February 26, 2009 12:02 pm. Finally, it’s about the flow of our language towards decent writing. Some sort of alarm bell rang in my temporal lobe.
If it consisted of nother more than a McDonalds menu or Viz etc then either ‘whilst’ or ‘while’ won’t work because both contain too many letters. People who use “whilst” are the real snobs.I use both ‘while’ and ‘whilst’. All Right Reserved It’s an English word alright.
This graph charts whilst vs. while across American English books since 1800. ‘While’ is the way forward!Whereas I use both, sometimes whilst sounds better when the next word begins with a vowel, I suspect it’s easier to say which is how most of these things start.I grew up in South Africa, and I and tend to use ‘whilst’ in the same manner as Paul above. You will never hear an educated native speaker use “whilst”. I am well educated and am the son of an English teacher who has corrected my grammar all my life, but I am from a working class background/area. As a Brit, whilst sounds quaint to me too. It was not uncommon to hear “whilst” used at the expense of “while” by both my parents and my educators. Typically, Brits use whilst and Americans use while.That’s the main difference.