[Grammar] 'When I came to school, no one was there yet'.

[DIApotter]

When I learned subordinating conjunction at school, I saw an example, 'When I came to school, no one was there yet'. why can't I use 'while' instead 'when'? I learned subordinating conjunction use them both. Thank you for reading!

 

[jutfrank]

Hello DIApotter.

The simple answer is that while and when have different meanings and different uses.

 

[Yankee]

"While" would suggest a period during which you traveled to school and in your example with "while" you would not know whether anyone was there until you arrived. "When" indicates that you had completed the travel which would allow the observation that "no one was there".