ながら
“Eagles don’t flock, you have to find them one at a time.” – Ross Perot
The grammar you’re learning in this chapter is fairly straight forward, though there are a couple of tricky spots that we’ll look at later on when you’re starting to get the hang of things.
Let’s first look at the (one) pattern you have to learn. This “While” or “At the same time” grammar only works with verbs, because you’re “doing something at the same time as something else” (i.e. you’re doing something while something else is happening) which makes it all the more easier to remember.
v.stem + ながら
a たべながら
While eating
a あるきながら
While walking
a サッカーをしながら
While (playing) doing soccer
You’ll want to start your sentence out with the thing you’re doing then follow it up with the thing you’re doing at the same time.
For now, though, please remember the pattern as well as the ながら part. Write them down in your language log/journal, and then move on to the next page where we’ll learn more specifically how to use ながら.