La Palabra del Día : mientras

Question

mientras (conjunction) while, as long as, whereas

Post your sentences in Spanish and English, then vote for the ones you like. The best answer will be chosen tomorrow on the basis of the greatest number of votes and language correctness.

Posts which will not be corrected or accepted:
- Captions with 3 words or less
- Paragraphs with more than 4 lines
- Blatant machine translations and posts which cannot be understood after three or four readings.
- Posts which consist mainly of lyrics or idioms which do not translate.
- Captions copied directly from books or other sources.
- Multiple posts from one person, or those who don't write the sentences in both English and Spanish.
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Remember to correct your posts as suggested or they can NOT be "accepted".
Do not use subject pronouns in Spanish.

No leas mientras comes.

Don't read while you are eating.

Wouldn't it be No leas for a negative tú command (subjunctive ending)? [No lea...formal] - 0074b507, Apr 6, 2011

And why the subjunctive (comas...not comes)? The adverbial clause isn't future tiime. - 0074b507, Apr 6, 2011

Thanks Q!! - Vaanz, Apr 6, 2011

Couples who read together stay together! - ray76, Apr 9, 2011

Answer 1

"Stay here my love while I go look for help." Cough, cough

Quédate aquí, mi amor,mientras voy a buscar ayuda." ¡cof, cof!

Quédate aquí, mi amor, mientras voy a buscar ayuda. ¡Cof, cof! : Remember (typical mistake) "look for" means "buscar", not "buscar por". - cogumela, Apr 6, 2011

hehe! Marshall, Marshall... Very goooood! :) - cogumela, Apr 6, 2011

Thank you so much cogumela. Hope you are doing well. - 0043ad50, Apr 6, 2011

How dramatic! The imagination reels from this image. - pesta, Apr 6, 2011

Answer 2

Si tu novia lee mientras estás hablando, búscate otra novia.

If your girlfriend reads whilst you were talking , look for another girlfriend.

tu then tú buscar means search for so por is redundant ...busca a otra novia. - 0074b507, Apr 6, 2011

Thank you gfreed , I have rejigged it. - ray76, Apr 6, 2011

"While" is missing! - Miro74, Apr 6, 2011

'While ' and "Whilst " are interchangeable although whilst is not used so much in American English,Miro74, Good of you to have noticed. - ray76, Apr 6, 2011

but you only use "whilst " if the action is going on , as in , she sang "whilst"bathing ,or cleaning. - ray76, Apr 6, 2011

But if you mean until, then while is preferable , "I wrote while I waited for the show to begin , or until it begins , so if 'until "fits , then use while. - ray76, Apr 6, 2011

New word! - Miro74, Apr 6, 2011

Now we are all sufficiently confused to open another bottle of red while i get sozzled , or until, whichever comes first, and knowing that "Who" is on first i am out of here. - ray76, Apr 6, 2011

... mientras estás hablando, búscate otra. (I'd suggest to remove that period) Well done, Ray! :) - cogumela, Apr 6, 2011

Thank you cogu , you are a champion as per usual. - ray76, Apr 6, 2011

Good try, Ray - sanlee, Apr 6, 2011

@ Ray Great explanation of "whilst" and "while" it had never occurred to me before. Thanks. Hvae a vote mate - ian-hill, Apr 7, 2011

Funnily enough! While is old English , but Whilst is more modern sometime in the 16th century. - ray76, Apr 9, 2011

Answer 3

Leí el periódico mientras esperaba en la oficina del doctor.

I read the newspaper while I waited in the doctor's office.

...mientras "esperaba" ( imperfect tense is very common after "mientras" ) Excellent, dogwood! :) - cogumela, Apr 6, 2011

Gracias! :) - 0066c384, Apr 6, 2011

Answer 4

Mientras yo estudiaba,recibí una llamada por Skype y conocí a nuevo amigo.

While I was studying, I recieved a call by Skype and I met a new friend.

Mientras estudiaba, recibí una llamada por Skype y conocí... Well done, sanlee! :) - cogumela, Apr 6, 2011

"...conocí a un nuevo amigo." or "conocí un nuevo amigo." - 002067fe, Apr 6, 2011

¡Gracias, Cogumela! - sanlee, Apr 6, 2011

Answer 5

¡Perdóneme mientras beso el cielo! [E]xcuse me, while I kiss the sky!

Lyrics to the song Purple Haze.

Yeser, buena respuesta, a direct quote. - EL_MAG0, Apr 6, 2011

Classic!:) - Deanski, Apr 6, 2011

Perdóneme mientras beso el cielo. Well done, Gary! :) - cogumela, Apr 6, 2011

No hay mejor guitarrista que este tío, en mi opinión. - Deanski, Apr 6, 2011

Gracias todos. - Yeser007, Apr 6, 2011

A true genius! You, too, Yesero. - JoyceM, Apr 6, 2011

Answer 6

Silba mientras trabajas. Whistle while you work.

Bien hecho ;) - EL_MAG0, Apr 6, 2011

Perfect, brentus! :) - cogumela, Apr 6, 2011

No corrections? Really? I know it is a simple sentence - but it is a first for me! Yay! - brentus, Apr 6, 2011

Answer 7

Era capaz de contarte mentiras con su voz suave, mientras te miraba a los ojos.

She was capable of telling you lies with her soft voice, while looking you in the eyes.

... mientras te miraba a los ojos. Excellent sentence as usual, luz :) - cogumela, Apr 6, 2011

Oh! "Decirte mentiras" is correct, but what about "contarte mentiras" ? 'Contar+pronoun' is a very specific verb, it's strongly fitting with the word "mentiras" - cogumela, Apr 6, 2011

Thanks Cogu:), I'll remember that... - luz_72, Apr 6, 2011

Answer 8

Viví en la luna mientras buscaba queso.

I lived on the moon while I was looking for cheese.

It's not exactly incorrect, Rabbit, but the logic thought would be : Viví en la luna mientras buscaba... I loved the pic! Well done! :) - cogumela, Apr 6, 2011

A bunny who lives on the Moon and likes cheese... Funny :) - cogumela, Apr 6, 2011

Thanks :) - rabbitwho, Apr 8, 2011

Answer 9

I listen to the radio while I am working.

Escucho la radio mientras estoy trabajando.

Thanks in advance for any corrections.

Perfect, amor y paz! :) - cogumela, Apr 6, 2011

Thank you cogumela :) - EL_MAG0, Apr 6, 2011

Answer 10

Mientras más como, más quiero.

The more I eat, the more I want.

The more I look at that , the more I want. - ray76, Apr 6, 2011

Hey, Ray, are you talking about the chocolate? :) - pesta, Apr 6, 2011

I'm not used to that expression, but I don't dare to say it's incorrect. We'd say in Spain: Cuanto más como, más quiero. Well done, Joyce! :) - cogumela, Apr 6, 2011

I found it in a dictionary of expressions. - JoyceM, Apr 6, 2011

Answer 11

I ate all the chocolates while you were in the . Me comí todos los chocolates mientras estaba en la ducha.

Me comí todos los chocolates mientras estaba en la ducha. Well done, Jennyo! :) - cogumela, Apr 6, 2011

Answer 12

Mientras contesto este post me preparo para dormir.

While I am answering this post I am getting ready to sleep.

Sleep well, Dakie :) - cogumela, Apr 6, 2011

Thanks Cogu. :) - Dakie, Apr 6, 2011

Answer 13

Mientras hablo con Abel por Skype, contesto aquí,

While talking with Abel on Skype, I answer here.

Mientras hablo / mientras estoy hablando .... Well done, dcalienz! :) - cogumela, Apr 6, 2011

Thanks cogumela, I think this is what you meant. - dc-alien-z, Apr 6, 2011

Answer 14

While I was voting for a friend, a new thread appeared.

Mientras votaba por un amigo, apareció un tema neuvo.

" for a friend" - ray76, Apr 6, 2011

iGracias Ray76! - Miro74, Apr 6, 2011

... votaba "por un" amigo, apareció un hilo/tema nuevo. Well done, Miro! :) - cogumela, Apr 6, 2011

Thank you! - Miro74, Apr 6, 2011

Answer 15

Oh well. It was fun while it lasted.

Bueno, fue divertido mientras duró.

Perfecto, por supuesto :) - cogumela, Apr 6, 2011

I want to test my english... - alkaiz, Apr 8, 2011