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le-paul
Joined: 07 Apr 2009
Location: dans la chambre
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 Posted: Tue Jun 17, 2014 6:39 am Post subject: grammar q. - months |
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Assuming we were talking about having taken a trip earlier this year, what would be more correct;
a/ I went to x in March.
b/ I went to x this past March.
b seems a little convoluted to me and unnatural, but Im not sure if thats because it is a regional way of saying it.
thanks |
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tardisrider
Joined: 13 Mar 2003
Location: Seoul
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| Posted: Tue Jun 17, 2014 7:53 am Post subject: |
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Either sentence seems acceptable to me.
The second statement seems to emphasize that the trip being discussed was during the most recent month of March (ie, earlier this year) instead of a long-ago March. If this distinction is clear from the greater context of the conversation, then I don't see a particular need for the emphasis in the second sentence, but there's nothing about it that seems outright wrong or confusing. |
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thrylos
Joined: 10 Jun 2008
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| Posted: Tue Jun 17, 2014 4:14 pm Post subject: |
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| Wouldn't 'last March' make b. sound more natural if you wanted to emphasize time? |
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le-paul
Joined: 07 Apr 2009
Location: dans la chambre
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| Posted: Tue Jun 17, 2014 4:32 pm Post subject: |
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| thrylos wrote: |
| Wouldn't 'last March' make b. sound more natural if you wanted to emphasize time? |
I though that, too.
But wouldnt that suggest March of 2013 as well as/or 2014?
Anyway, thanks both |
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sojusucks
Joined: 31 May 2008
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| Posted: Tue Jun 17, 2014 5:22 pm Post subject: Re: grammar q. - months |
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| le-paul wrote: |
a/ I went to x in March.
b/ I went to x this past March.
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I think a would be simpler to learn - perhaps that is why most Chinese and Korean English students that I've met seem to use a. Option b better instructs the listener on when in the past this occurred. Correct me if I am wrong but I think that Americans and Brits use nest week a bit differently. |
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The Cosmic Hum
Joined: 09 May 2003
Location: Sonic Space
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| Posted: Tue Jun 17, 2014 6:50 pm Post subject: |
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| le-paul wrote: |
| thrylos wrote: |
| Wouldn't 'last March' make b. sound more natural if you wanted to emphasize time? |
I though that, too.
But wouldnt that suggest March of 2013 as well as/or 2014?
Anyway, thanks both |
Yes...it would..bit of a grey area.
Both are acceptable, and without context, b would be most accurate.
| sojusucks wrote: |
| Correct me if I am wrong but I think that Americans and Brits use nest week a bit differently. |
Not to sure about that, but with the seasons being timed a bit differently, perhaps they have to use that week to ensure their fledglings are prepared for greater challenges once they take wing. |
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denverdeath
Joined: 21 May 2005
Location: Boo-sahn
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| Posted: Wed Jun 18, 2014 6:49 am Post subject: |
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Have to agree with most posters.
"I went to blah in March" may signify ANY March of some yr, but likely the yr we're currently in.
"I went to Blah this past March" IS pretty similar to "I went to Blah last March" or "this past March", meaning the March of THIS year. BUT, if it's January or February, we probably know it's the previous yr!
Think, at least for North Americans, it makes a bit of a difference.
I went to school on the weekend.
I went to school this weekend.
I went to school this past weekend.
I went to school last weekend.
At least for me, what day it is TODAY, makes a difference sometimes. For me, if it's Monday, usually only number 4 means the previous weekend. |
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