I am wondering if there is any difference between the following? I am confused. Or could you please introduce me other phrses fitted better rather than the bold ones? I have written the sentences by myself.

A. Throughout the time One can come to realise plagiarism becomes more common.

B. During the time One can come to realise plagiarism becomes more common.

  • 2
    To be honest, neither sentence makes much sense. In general, during means some time during and throughout means the entire time during. What's the intended meaning of the sentence? – DJMcMayhem Jun 26 '15 at 16:04

Throughout is used with

  • states which are constantly present and
  • events which occur repeatedly and frequently

during the entirety of the period.

During may be used the same way (I just did!), but it does not necessarily imply constant occurrence; it may be used with single or relatively rare events and states which occur at some point in the period.

Throughout his visit to Scotland George travelled by bus.
During his visit to Scotland Harry travelled by bus only twice.

Note that both Throughout and during are generally used with specific timeframes: "Throughout the 19th century", "During my vacation". If you mean merely that something happens during/throughout any stretch of time, use over time.

Over time you may come to realize that plagiarism is increasing.
You may come to realize that plagiarism is increasing over time.

Note that where you put the phrase determines what it modifies. In the first it modifies You may come to realize; in the second it modifies plagiarism is increasing.


In general, use "Throughout time" and "During the time of" or "During this time". If you want to use "Throughout the time", you will need to qualify it more, such as "Throughout the time that the subject was studied"

For your examples, it's tough to figure out which option to go with without the context of any surrounding sentences.

"Throughout" typically lasts from the start of something all the way to the end. So to say "I had a job throughout the year" would mean that you were employed in January and stayed at the job every month, including December of that year.

"During" is not quite as comprehensive. It doesn't have to include the entire timespan of something. So using the above example, "I had a job during the year" would mean that at some point in the year, you were employed. It could have been only in March, and no other months. It could mean you had a job for 6 months out of the year. And it could also overlap with "throughout" and mean you had a job from January all the way through December, but that's not guaranteed when you say "during".

Just based on the options you've provided, I would go with "During this time, one can realise plagiarism became more common."

Although in American English, using "one" in this context comes across as formal and stiff. Something like "During this time, plagiarism became more common." or better yet, "During this time, individuals realized plagiarism became increasingly common."

  • Woops, good catch. Finished the thought. Don't know how it got cut off originally. – syntiro Jun 26 '15 at 19:12
  • 1 It happened during the war. - This can mean any point of time in the war.

  • 2 Throughout the war we were suffering from hunger. - This means from the beginning of the war to its end. You could also say "during the whole war".

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