Violet Level

Lesson Twenty-Four

meanwhile

 

The word "meanwhile" is a conjunctive adverb that joins two clauses together. It’s similar to "as" and "while." It’s useful in describing two things happening at the same time.

examples 

 1. He’s cleaning the house; meanwhile, his wife is away at work.

man cleaning

 2. Kimlan is studying engineering; meanwhile, her friend Hoang is in the United States studying English.

kimlan Kimlan
Hoang
 3. Sue is vacationing in Hawaii; meanwhile, her coworkers in Chicago are hard at work inside their offices.

on vacation

 4. The beekeeper checks his hives to see how his bees are doing; meanwhile, the bees continue to do their work.
beekeeper
bees
 5. A high school band marches in a parade; meanwhile, the truck behind them entertains the crowd with a flame thrower.

Click here for a video clip.

 6. Hanging clothes outside to dry saves me money on electricity; meanwhile, the environmental benefits of not using electricity for such a simple task should be obvious.
clothes
 7. The tomatoes in the front yard are almost ripe; meanwhile, the tomatoes in the backyard aren’t even close to being ripe.
ripe tomatoes ripe tomatoes
unripe tomatoes unripe tomatoes

Next: Lesson Twenty-Five