Dave's ESL Cafe's Student Discussion Forums

[kerstin]

I have a problem of using what preposition to modify a noun.


the eleventh hour=an important moment


in , at ,or on the eleventh hour?


thank you ~

[CP]

If something occurs at the eleventh hour, it happens with very little time left, almost at the last moment. It doesn't necessarily mean an important moment, just a late moment.
_________________
You live a new life for every new language you speak. -Czech proverb

[kerstin]

Why the 11th hour, not 12th? Is it because there are 12 hours in half of a day?

Thanks

[iitimone7]

i think the 11th hour is used in referring to the end of the day. it doesn't make much sense, i know, but that's the only way i've heard it used. again, this is not an every day phrase. i'm sorry i don't have a better explanation. iitimone7

[ad-miral]

There is also a movie about 11th hour. It's about
Global warming, deforestation, mass species extinction, and depletion of the oceans' habitats.

http://wip.warnerbros.com/11thhour/

So iitimone's guess is proved. See the 11th hour would mean everything after 22:59 and before 0:00. The 0:00 is a comparison for the World End caused by Global warming, deforestation etc.
_________________
If I say "I love you" to someone, then I also have to say "I also love everyone else inside you, I love the whole world because of you, I also love myself inside you." -- Erich Fromm, the Art of Love

[ad-miral]

Oh I have a question: Do we say "an 11th hour" or "a 11th hour?" Because if we write it in letters it would be: "eleventh" and then we should use "an eleventh hour", but what if we write it in arabic number?
_________________
If I say "I love you" to someone, then I also have to say "I also love everyone else inside you, I love the whole world because of you, I also love myself inside you." -- Erich Fromm, the Art of Love

[bud]

Admiral, does the pronunciation of the word start with a vowel? If yes, then "an" is required. It doesn't matter how the word is spelled.

an honor
an 11th
a useful tool
an usher

Hope that helps.

[ad-miral]

oh yeahr! Thanks very much
_________________
If I say "I love you" to someone, then I also have to say "I also love everyone else inside you, I love the whole world because of you, I also love myself inside you." -- Erich Fromm, the Art of Love

[bud]

You're very welcome!

[CP]

[ad-miral]

I would want to explain it in another way:
See, there is no 24:00 o'clock, because the minute after 23:59 is the 0:00 of the next day. So the 12th hour (pm) is the end of the day. (lyrically speaking, it's the end)
But "the 11th hour" is the last hour, it means there is still a little bit time before the end.
_________________
If I say "I love you" to someone, then I also have to say "I also love everyone else inside you, I love the whole world because of you, I also love myself inside you." -- Erich Fromm, the Art of Love

[missdaredevil]

I was told to work at the eleventh hour.

Is that correct?

What about "last moment" or "last minute notice"?
Can they be used interchangeably?

Thanks

[iitimone7]

last moment is not usually a phrase that is used by itself. here are a couple examples...

~Since Rita didn't come to work today, my bos asked me to stay at the last moment.

~At the last moment before I clocked out for the day, my boss asked me to stay since Rita did not come to work.

~The last moment of the day was interrupted wih so many phone calls that I clocked out late from work.

As you can see by the examples, at the last moment is a more complete phrase.

*At the last minute, my boss asked me to stay since Rita didn't come to work today.

*At the last minute's notice, before my presentation, Bob decided that I needed to add another slide that we needed to discuss in the meeting.

These are just a few examples that I could think of early this morning. Can you see the difference? They are similar and I'm not sure how else to explain it (at this very moment). Let me think about it more. Can anyone else help here? iitimone7