the difference between "as" and "when"?

[嘟嘟嘟嘟]

When "as" means "when", are there some differences in daily use between them? I know that when we talk about two things that don't happen at the same time, "when" is usually used instead of "as". Apart from that, what about other differences in using "as" and "when"? Thanks for help!

 

[Rover_KE]

Please write some sample sentences for us to consider.

 

[嘟嘟嘟嘟]

Please write some sample sentence for us to consider.

Ok!
While/When/As he was speaking, everybody listened carefully.
Henry is in charge of the office while/when/as Mr. Smith is away.
The thieves ran away when/as they caught sight of the police.
Are all the above sentences right in regards to those conjunctions? Is there any difference in meaning using those different conjunctons?

 

[jutfrank]

While/When/As he was speaking, everybody listened carefully. [use while or as]
Henry is in charge of the office while/when/as Mr. Smith is away. [use when]
The thieves ran away when/as they caught sight of the police. [use when]

Are all the above sentences right in regards to those conjunctions? Is there any difference in meaning using those different conjunctons?

No. See my bracketed notes. Yes, there is difference in meaning.

Here's a link to a related thread: https://www.usingenglish.com/forum/threads/259689-I-saw-an-accident-when-while-I-was-going-to-work

I refer you to my post #10, which explains the difference between while and when in terms of the semantic relationship between clauses (subordination). You might note that not many members liked my post, which is odd because it's a very good one!

To minimise confusion, I suggest you get the difference between when and while clear first, before you worry about as.

 

[嘟嘟嘟嘟]

No. See my bracketed notes. Yes, there is difference in meaning.

Here's a link to a related thread: https://www.usingenglish.com/forum/threads/259689-I-saw-an-accident-when-while-I-was-going-to-work

I refer you to my post #10, which explains the difference between while and when in terms of the semantic relationship between clauses (subordination). You might note that not many members liked my post, which is odd because it's a very good one!

To minimise confusion, I suggest you get the difference between when and while clear first, before you worry about as.

"Use while to simply stress that two events happen concurrently. There is no (necessary) logical connection between them other than their concurrence. E.g.:

In the mornings, I make breakfast while my wife gets the kids ready for school.

(Note that while can be used to show a logical relation of contrast, but that's not relevant to this thread.)

Use when to show a logical connection between two events. In other words, there is some kind of dependence of one clause upon the other. E.g."

To tell the truth, I have never been told anything about the above points when learning English in my country. There is really a long way for me to go. Anyway, could you tell me some uses about 'as' now? After all, the purpose of my posting this thread is to learn something about 'as' when it is used to connect two things which happen at the same time. I will be very grateful for your explanation.

 

[嘟嘟嘟嘟]

Originally Posted by 嘟嘟嘟嘟
While/When/As he was speaking, everybody listened carefully. [use while or as]
Henry is in charge of the office while/when/as Mr. Smith is away. [use when]
The thieves ran away when/as they caught sight of the police. [use when]

For the first sentence, isn't there a logical relatoin between the two clauses (why do you exclude 'when')? (Everyone listened because he was speaking.)
And for the next two sentences, I don't understand why the others can't be used.

 

[jutfrank]

I didn't say that the others can't be used. I was trying to give you advice based on what I think you mean.

I'm not going to give you a full explanation of all uses of each of those words. If you want that, I suggest taking a look at Michael Swan's Practical English Usage (see the section labelled as, when and while), which does a decent job.

Come back here with further specific questions, if you still have any.