during 'working / work'

[Er.S.M.M.Hanifa]

Hi,
1. -During(prep)- working(g), you should follow proper office procedures.
Is the above sentence grammatically correct?
Or should I replace the gerund with noun - 'work'?
Please guide me.
Thanks,
Er.S.M.M.Hanifa

 

[EStjarn]

Hi,

Between work and working, the former is the correct one:

During work, you should follow proper office procedures.

 

[Rover_KE]

This is a badly constructed sentence. Neither version sounds natural.

Whilst at work, you should follow proper office procedure.

Rover

 

[JamesM]

If you are dead-set on using a gerund, you could say:

When working, you should follow proper office procedures.


I'm not sure what the intended meaning might be. I wonder why "while at work" or "when working" is being used to qualify the statement. It's obvious that no one would be expected to follow proper office procedure at home.

 

[EStjarn]

Rover,

Would you kindly explain why during doesn't work well in the sentence above. (I'm not arguing that it does, I just can't put my finger on why it does not.)

The reason I'm asking is because googling "during work" it seems work is a fairly common collocate to during. A couple of examples:

How to take breaks during work...
http://www.ehow.com/how_4788601_breaks-during-work-dont-insane.html

Surfing Internet during work increases productivity
http://trendsupdates.com/study-surfing-internet-during-work-increases-productivity/

Regards,
EStjarn

 

[suzi br]

The one you posted originally sounds wrong because following procedures is about what you have to do all the time while you are working. The two new examples you've found suggest a deviation from the work routine, either to take a break or surf the net.

 

[EStjarn]

suzi br,

I'm just trying to figure out why during work is not as valid as whilst at work or while at work or when working. The rest of the sentence is not part of my quandary.

 

[Hermione Golightly]

EStjarn

I agree that 'During work' is as good as the other suggestions, at least I have no violent objections to it, except that it has a faintly unnatural twang. But for me they are all infected so to speak by the strangeness of the whole sentence which Suzi has highlighted.

Hermione

 

[EStjarn]

Hermione,

Could you please elaborate on "except that it has a faintly unnatural twang".

 

[Rover_KE]

It's not how most native speakers would say it.

 

[EStjarn]

Thanks, Rover!