language discussions from longman website

[مستر وليد السيد]

Prepositions

what follows a preposition?

Can "during" be followed by v + ing or a noun only?

Sender : Ahmed Position: Student

During is a preposition. It can only be followed by a noun or noun phrase: during the summer, during lunch, etc.

Sometimes the ing-form acts like a noun. It is then called a gerund. During can sometimes be followed by a gerund, for example ; During filming, the main actor had an accident. But this doesn't work with all gerunds (I can't say "during eating"). So you may see such gerunds in your reading, but it is best to avoid them in your own work unless you're sure that the usage is correct.

Sender mahmoud s.teacher

Kindly suggest any references to deal with these problems

Sender Editor

In this particular case, any dictionary will tell you that "during" is a preposition, and prepositions must be followed by nouns. I don't know of any reference that would define which gerunds would work after this preposition. That is one reason why it is best to teach your students to avoid a gerund in this position.