meanwhile
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meanwhile
In the meantime; meanwhile. The adverb expresses that something happens at the same time as another previously mentioned action.
Ich bereitete das Abendessen vor; die Kinder spielten unterdessen im Garten.
I prepared dinner; meanwhile, the children played in the garden.
'Unterdessen' (meanwhile) can stand in position 1 or inside the sentence. If it stands in position 1, the conjugated verb follows immediately (inversion). Inside the sentence, it usually stands after the verb and the subject.
Unterdessen hatte der Regen aufgehört.
Meanwhile, the rain had stopped.
The word is made up of the preposition 'unter' (under/during) and the genitive pronoun 'dessen' (of that/whose). It describes an action that takes place 'unter' or 'während' (during/while) another one is happening.
Er las die Zeitung. Unterdessen kochte seine Frau das Mittagessen.
He read the newspaper. Meanwhile, his wife cooked lunch.
'Unterdessen' (meanwhile) is often used in written language, for example in narratives or reports, to express simultaneity. It sounds somewhat more formal than other expressions.
Die Politiker verhandelten. Unterdessen wartete die Presse auf eine Erklärung.
The politicians were negotiating. Meanwhile, the press waited for a statement.
meanwhile
Mittlerweile focuses on a new state reached after some time. Unterdessen more strongly presents two processes as happening simultaneously. Use mittlerweile for the result achieved by today and unterdessen for a parallel event.
Das Team strich den neuen Büroraum, unterdessen baute der Hausmeister die Möbel auf.
The team painted the new office space while the caretaker assembled the furniture.
Nach mehreren Monaten ist der neue Büroraum mittlerweile vollständig eingerichtet.
After several months, the new office space is now fully set up.
