ながらWhile ~ing, During, As

ながら is another conjunction particle in Japanese that has two primary different meanings. These meanings are as follows:

同時(どうじ)の動(うご)き - Two things that are existing/happening simultaneously.

確定(かくてい)の逆説(ぎゃくせつ) - Two things that are unexpectedly existing/happening simultaneously.

We will focus purely on the 同時(どうじ)の動(うご)き meaning in this grammar point. To use ながら, simply add it to the ます stem of verb (A), and then highlight verb (B) as part of the following clause. This may be translated simply as 'while' in English.

Grammatically, the (B) action is considered to be the 'important' action, while the (A) action expresses the timeline within which (B) takes place.

Caution

Due to the (B) action being considered the 'primary' action of something that (A) is related to, (A) and (B) must have the same subject.

Fun Fact

When used to express 確定(かくてい)の逆説(ぎゃくせつ), ながら will be followed by も. ながらも is a separate grammar point that we will learn more about later. In this construction, も is expressing surprise about the fact that (A) and (B) coexist.