Awhile vs. A While (Grammar Rules)

Learn when to use awhile vs. a while with Grammar Rules from the Writer’s Digest editors, including a few examples of correct usages.

I've been meaning to write this post for a while, because the difference between awhile and a while has plagued me for years. After spending a while looking into their meanings and usages, I think I've got it down.

In a while, you may have it locked down too!

Awhile vs. A While

Awhile is an adverb that means "for a while." The obvious question, what does "a while" mean?

The while in a while is a noun that means "a period of time." If you can swap out a while with a period of time, then you're likely dealing with the noun while.

Make sense?

Let's go through a few examples:

Correct: He drank awhile after running five miles.
Incorrect: He drank a while after running five miles.

Correct: The best way to find the answer is to think for a while about the problem.
Incorrect: The best way to find the answer is to think for awhile about the problem.

Correct: You said you would sing awhile a while ago.
Incorrect: You said you would sing a while awhile ago.

One trick for keeping them straight is to remember awhile is an adverb and while is a noun. If we think awhile about their differences, then it shouldn't take more than a while to figure out when to use which.

Learn more in the online course, Grammar and Mechanics, from Writer’s Digest University:

Robert Lee Brewer is Senior Editor of Writer's Digest, which includes managing the content on WritersDigest.com and programming virtual conferences. He's the author of Solving the World's Problems, The Complete Guide of Poetic Forms: 100+ Poetic Form Definitions and Examples for Poets, Poem-a-Day: 365 Poetry Writing Prompts for a Year of Poeming, and more. Also, he's the editor of Writer's Market, Poet's Market, and Guide to Literary Agents. Follow him on Twitter @robertleebrewer.