夕食を食べながら、テレビを見る。(Yuushoku wo tabenagara, terebi wo miru).
"Nagara" puts it this sentence in the frame of eating being secondary to watching television. There isn't a very natural English translation but essentially I watch television eating dinner, I watch television over dinner, or I eat dinner as I watch television.
Is that what you wanted to say ?
夕食を食べている間に、テレビを見る。(Yuushoku wo tabete iru aida ni, terebi wo miru).
This construction uses "aida ni" for "during"/"while" and simply relates one event happening within the same time span as another, without expressing one activity as more or less secondary to the other. In other words, sometime during this period of watching television, there is also the action of eating. :hungry:
「夕食を食べながらテレビを見る」 sounds a bit static: "to watch television while.. etc". If you woud like to say "I'm watching television while eating dinner" it would be:
「夕食を食べながらテレビを見てます」(Yuushoku wo tabenagara terebi wo mitemasu)
Or if you would like to say "I'm going to watch television while eating dinner" it would be like:
「夕食を食べながらテレビを見ます」(..etc..mimasu)
Just to say that the verb 「見る」 can be adjusted to suit the situation you want to describe. But the explanation of 「～ながら」 and 「～ている間に」is excellent!
「夕食を食べながらテレビを見る」 sounds a bit static: "to watch television while.. etc". If you would like to say "I'm watching television while eating dinner" it would be:
Thanks for the great clarification. And yeah I have a lot of problems that way in deciding for habitual or ongoing activities whether to use the infinitive or continuous form.
Because the English was "I watch" that was my first instinct as well in Japanese. If the original text included a time element, for instance "Every day while I'm eating dinner I watch television" does that allow 見る to fit any better ? Or more likely it's just a feeling of inconsistency between 食べながら、食べている and 見る。