Why does one have to use ながら instead of つつ in this sentence?

Question

I'm going through an exercise book to prepare for the N2 exam, and I got confused by this question:

＿たばこを吸わないでよ

There are choices for 歩きつつ and 歩きながら, and the answer is 歩きながら.

What's the difference between つつ and ながら in this case and why does one have to use the latter?

http://www.guidetojapanese.org/learn/grammar/tendency#Describing_an_ongoing_occurrence_using — macraf, Apr 01 '20 at 20:50
Does this answer your question? Difference between ながら, がてら and つつ — macraf, Apr 01 '20 at 20:51

score 2 · Accepted Answer · answered Apr 02 '20 at 14:55

歩きつつタバコを吸わないでよ sounds strange since つつ sounds literary (文語的) and doesn't go well with the latter half of the sentence タバコを吸わないでよ which is pretty colloquial (口語的).

This 古語辞典 says:

「つつ」は現代語では、文語の中で用いられる。現代語の「つつ」は、「道を歩きつつ本を読む」のように、二つの動作の並行か、「今、読みつつある本」のように、動作の継続かの意味で用いられる。

Why does one have to use ながら instead of つつ in this sentence?

1 Answers1