We use both during and in to say that something happens inside a particular period of time.
We\'ll be on holiday during/in August.
I woke up during/in the night.
We prefer duing when we stress that we are talking about the whole of the period.
The shop\'s closed during the whole of August. (NOT...in the whole of August.)
We often prefer during when we say that something happens between the beginning and end of an event or activity (not a period of time).
He had some strange experiences during his military service. (NOT...in his military service.)
I\'ll try to phone you during the meeting. (NOT...in the meeting.)
I met them during my stay in HongKong.
2. during and for
During is used to say when something happens; for is used to say how long it lasts. Compare:
My father was in hospital during the summer.
My father was in hospital for six weeks. (NOT...during six weeks.)
It rained during the night for two or three hous.
I\'ll call in and see you for a few minutes during the afternoon.
3. east and eastern, north and northern etc
3-1. adjectives; the difference
We often prefer eastern, northern etc when we are talking about vague, rather indefinite areas, and east, north etc for more clearly difined places. Compare:
the northern part of the country the north side of the house
However, there are a lot of exceptions to this rule, especially in place names (see below).
3-2. place names
In place names, the use of East or Eastern, North or Northern etc is often just a matter of custom, with no real reason for the difference. Compare:
----- North/South Korea, North/South Africa, West Virginia,
East Sussex, the North and South Poles
----- Northern Ireland, Eastern/Western Europe,
the Northern/Southern Hemisphere, Northern Territory(in Australia),
Western Australia
Note the difference between South Africa (the country whose capital is Pretoria) and Southern Africa (the southern part of the African continent).
3-3. capital letters
Capital letters are used at the beginning of East, Eastern, North, Northern etc when these come in official or well-established place names.
North Carolina Western Australia the Far East
unemployment in the North (place name meaning \' the North of England\')
In other cases, adjectives and nouns normally begin with small letters, as do adverbs.
We spent the winter in southern california.
I live in north london. The sun rises in the east.