Peut-on utiliser lorsque?

Question

Peut-on utiliser lorsque comme "while" en anglais?
Exemple : Je fais la vaisseille lorsque tu arrives" en même temps dans les 2 phrases? merci d'avance.

Aurélie Drouard · Accepted Answer

Bonjour Ly !

"Lorsque" actually means the same as "quand" (when), so it's a bit different from "while". It doesn't mark simultaneity so much as something happening at one specific moment.
The best way to express simultaneity in this sentence would be as such:
"Je fais la vaisselle pendant que tu arrives." (I do the dishes while you're arriving.)

However, the use of "arriver" here feels a bit weird, as it is not an action that lasts as long as doing the dishes, so the simultaneity here feels a bit contrived.
Something like ""Je fais la vaisselle pendant que tu fais le lit." (I do the dishes while you're making the bed.) feels a bit more natural.

I hope that's helpful!

ly fen chen · Answer

Thank you for your answer with explanation.
So to express simultaneity, we use "pendant" it's better than " lorsque " that is used as "quand", right?

Aurélie Drouard · Answer

Yes, "pendant que" would be "while". "Pendant" on its own means "during".

ly fen chen · Answer

Okey, I understand now, thank you very much and have a nice day!

Dan Bartoes · Answer

I guess that this is a challenge, sort of like the imparfait vs. passe compose question. I generally use lorsque when the condition being met has some type of lead up, e.g., lorsqu'ils arrivent, nous nous asseyerons dans le salon. I tend to use 'quand' when it's two simultaneous actions or some type of instant trigger, e.g., Quand tu as ouvert la porte, tu m'as fait mal.

Just another take. I hope it's helpful.

In the original sentence, I got the impression that when someone arrived, then 'I' would do the dishes, definitely dig=fferent from You arrived while I was doing the dishes. Isn't language fun??